By My Side
by MarauderWitch
Summary: Is to have the loved one by your side all that really matters? Or is the knowledge that you are loved enough? When everything is over, how do you keep on living? How do you live with the memories? How do you move on? Sequel to my other story: Bubblegum Pink Moon. AU (alternative ending). Post-Deathly Hallows. Rated M: Adult language and mild sexual situations.
1. The Real Beginning

**A/N: **Wotcher! This is a sequel to my other story, Bubblegum Pink Moon, I know I'm far from finishing it, but I have too many ideas for after the war and I needed to put them somewhere. :) Enjoy!

~Disclaimer: I owe nothing, but the plot and the OCs. All the other characters and the Harry Potter world belong to J.K. Rowling!~

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**BY MY SIDE**

**CHAPTER 1: The Real Beginning**

Remus Lupin slowly felt himself being drawn back to a conscious state, everything seemed so uncertain. Was this how life after death seemed? But certainly it did not have to be so…_ loud_. His ears started to perceive all kinds of sound, but none would come clear to him as though his brain was refusing to understand his surroundings. He was alive, but how could he be? He had seen the green light right before he felt his body go numb, unable to control any part of it and he had fell, defeated. He had heard Dolohov spoke the two words that would take his life away with a flick of a wand, right when he had distracted himself with…

"Dora," His voice barely came out of his lips, even more hoarse than usual.

He opened his eyes, his head seemed to be spinning in all directions at the same time and he spotted nothing but a blur of colours. He tried to lift his hand with the purpose of covering a part of the light that was blinding him when he became aware of the rest of his body. Every inch of his flesh appeared to have been perforated by a sharp knife and he frowned, taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening again. One thing he knew. He was not dead.

He knew that place, he had lost count how many times he had been in this building, most of them because of… _her_. St. Mungo's, Hospital for Magical Maladies. He took in another breath before clenching his teeth preparing himself for the pain that he knew would strike again and it did. He sat down, sliding his legs outside the bed. He had to find her, he mentalized as a way to fight it. He would find her.

He was still wearing the same clothes he was when he left for the battle, but surely they were not… like this. The buttons of his shirt had not been closed as they should, causing the collar to hang in an unnatural way. The sleeves were half up his arms, the torso was ripped in a few places and those stains of blood certainly were not there before. His trousers were in a somewhat better shape, but rips and blood were there too and... no shoes.

Right when he was trying to stand up, he felt a light pressure on his chest. His gaze fell to the small hand there and slowly followed until the woman's eyes, she was trying to say something, he realised that. Everything was starting to fell into place, but he still had to struggle with his ears to understand the few words.

"Please, sir, you need to lie down."

He looked at her, a confused expression in his face. How could he lie down when he had no idea of where Dora was or if she was alive or… He shook his head. He could not think about that, it was too painful; she was supposed to have stayed home with… _Teddy!_

He got up completely ignoring the young healer who seemed to be putting all the efforts on making him go back to bed.

"My wife…" was all that he was able to say.

"Sir," The young woman called. "if you lie down, we can try to locate her for you. What's her name?" She asked, materializing a clipboard.

"Dora- No," He frowned, rubbing his hand in his face. The pain was easing out, but was definitely still there. "Try, Tonks- No! Lupin."

He heard a sarcastic chuckle coming from the lips of the woman standing before him.

"You've just given me three names to look for, are you sure you are even married?"

Remus took in another breath, had she just insinuated that he had forgotten her? He placed both of his hands on the bed for support before looking straight into her eyes.

"Her name was Nymphadora Vulpecula Tonks," he began, panting, "_though_, she married me, _therefore_, now she is Nymphadora Vulpecula Lupin. _However_, she never liked her given name so, I call her Dora, but she was known by her surname _only_, Tonks. She's an Auror and a Metamorphmagus and she has probably been here more times than you," He watched as his eyes focused on her features, seeing now a short woman with black hair tied up and black framed eyeglasses upon green eyes; he realised that he was almost proud of the slight scared expression spread across her face. He would be dead before he could forget who his wife was. "So, you can try any combination you prefer and I'll go look for her," He informed her, standing up again and stepping towards the door.

"Should I-" She reached out for his arm. Her tone calm and patient, clearly ashamed of her behaviour. "Should I check the hm," She bit her lip. "We have a list of the deceased, sir. It's the shortest, so, if there's a chance she…"

He could see in her eyes the lack of experience, but what she was suggesting was simply impossible.

"She's not dead," He stated, re-starting to walk to the hallway.

"It's probably the fastest way, sir."

He closed his eyes. This was not him, cowardly running away from the problem instead of facing it… or perhaps it was. Was it courage when he ignored her feelings for him and went to live with the werewolves? Was it courage when he left after finding out she was pregnant with their child? No, definitely not. But there was something about her, something about her that made him not able to think of the slightest chance of her being hurt. And as she always made him see, it was not how he ran away that made him who he really was; it was how he always came back. Remus exhaled heavily and turned around, he could almost hear Dora telling him this was the brave thing to do.

"Give me the list," He asked, raising his hand.

The healer quickly put the roll of parchment in his hand, almost as if she was afraid he would change his mind.

Remus opened it, his eyes scanning the names until he found the ones that started with an L. _Lemmet, Lestrange, Lestrange, Lockwood, McAddams… Wait! McAddams meant…_ Although, his heart wanted to pop out of his chest, he knew better than to allow happiness to take over. Countless times his wife had been admitted to that very Hospital, but the times she had worn her current surname were less than the numbers of fingers in a hand. He continued to scroll down, not even caring if he would find a friend or any other dear person, all he cared in that instant was to make sure that her old surname was not there. _Tilles, Tipley, Toakley, Tonks, Turpin…_ And he saw it. The five letters perfectly written to make sure there was no doubt. Tonks. The name he came to love in the past three years, he was now, hating. His heart sank and everything was spinning once again. How could she? She was supposed to stay home, home with their baby. A single tear made its way to the parchment in his hand, falling right beside the word he least wanted to see, staining the name Theodore. Theodore. His son. _Their _son. The new-born with coloured hair that looked so much like her. Theodore… named after… _her father_.

He let the roll fall on the floor as he put a hand to cover his mouth, a couple of tears coming down his cheeks. Of course they would have the names of all of them, a few of the deceased not even the Order knew about. He had half of a mind to perceive a hand on his shoulder and warm words coming from the healer.

"She's alive," He managed to say. "She's alive!" He wiped the tears away and looked back at her. "Where are the injured ones? Is she here yet? Where are the severe cases? How is the Hospital organised?" He only now realised that he was grabbing her arm and let go of it.

"I'm sorry," She began to look into her clipboard once again. "but we couldn't- The Hospital is not exactly organised. These past two days have been chaos in here, you were luck you had a bed-"

"Two days?" He asked. "I've been out for two days?"

"Well, yes, sir," She confirmed. "We were unable to give all needed care to everyone. I've never seen it like this, I assure you we've been doing our best, but-"

"So, she can be anywhere?"

"I'm afraid so," She was almost apologising. "but you can try the lower ones first. Too much work to transfer patients to the other floors, you see, so she's most likely- Sir!"

Remus left the room towards the stairs, he needed to find her.

"Sir, I should really advise you to stay put and lie down for a bit. You've just come back, I'll check you up and then I'll find your wife for you," She promised.

But this wasn't good enough for him. How long would it take until she did everything she just said and find her? No, he could not wait.

"I need to see her," He started to climb down the stairs, but had to stop and lean on the wall for support.

"Please, sir, just lie down and I'll search her for you right away."

He continued to go down the stairs until he finally heard the woman exhaling heavily.

"Fine, I'll look into the records," She conjured a few rolls of parchment. "Lupin or Tonks, you said, right?" She asked with a smile.

Remus nodded.

"Go, just don't pass out or… die," She smiled. "I'll find you as soon as I know where she is."

"Thank you," He offered her a curt nod and a smile before continuing to climb down the stairs.

Room after room, hallway after hallway he searched for that bubblegum pink hair, but without luck. The chaos in the lower levels was even worse than he thought it would be. Every single wizard in Great Britain seemed to be in that building. Beds and mattresses were everywhere, blood was on the walls, potions were spilled on the floor. If this was how it looked two days after the end of the battle, Remus did not want to think how the Hospital was right after it.

He left the first floor and continued his search on the second, but it was nearly as chaotic. A voice deep down him was beginning to come out and wonder if they had the list of the deceased ones constantly updated. With so many injured, he wondered how long it would take to update the list or even perceive a death on that matter. Cries, shouts, hurried voices. He would not have heard, had someone called his name. Too fast, he had finished his search on the second floor and she wasn't there either. As much as he did not want them to, his hopes were starting to leave him.

He came back to the third floor and passed through the room he had been in… If they had been able to move him to a different floor, certainly they could have moved her too. The way things were down there, they would need every inch they could use. He ran as fast as he could to the fifth floor, despite a voice telling him that the cafeteria would be the least likely place for her to be. First room, nothing. Second room, nothing. Third room, nothing. He was running through the hallway begging for her to be here, begging for her to be alive, but that stupid voice was still there, telling him that she was not there, it just would not shut up.

And he was never gladder to be wrong.

He burst through the door just to see a room like all the others, filled with a dozen of injured wizards, hoping to make through it all. But he could never have missed her, a thin, brown-haired woman with her head on the mattress, where lied a pale, pink-haired woman… his wife.

"Remus!" Andromeda lifted up her head and had thrown herself on his neck the next second. He carefully placed a hand on her back, she had never been so affectionate towards him, but with the end of the war... he knew everything would be different now.

"How is she?" He asked, letting go of her and walking to the bed. He got her hand traced her face, placing a feather kiss on her lips, but something was different, almost as if this was not the mouth he came to know, no warmth, no movement, no kissing him back, no _nothing_. "She's… cold."

His mother-in-law began to explain, how she was barely breathing, how some curse had hit both of them, leaving them nearly dead, in fact, people had put the couple of them with some other dead bodies, how she had lost a lot of blood, how they had done nearly everything they could, but she had not awaken yet, St. Mungo's was too chaotic indeed. She had put a Warm Charm on her, but it had not been enough to get her temperature to the normal level.

"And Teddy?" He asked, kissing the back of Tonks's hand.

"Still at my house, Molly's been watching out for him," She answered, running her fingers through her daughter's hair, watching as he looked anguished at his wife. "You should go see him, Remus, take a shower, get some rest."

"I've slept for the past two days, Andromeda," He let out a fake chuckle.

"You still need to eat something and relax a bit," She placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll relax a bit when she's better."

"I'll be here with her," Her tone was calm and clearly asking for him to take care of himself for a moment. "The Dark Lord is gone, Remus. You needn't worry."

Remus looked up at her, the mute question in his wide eyes. Andromeda nodded as a smile tugged the corner of her lips. Voldemort was gone. It was over, it was finally over.

"Harry?" He wondered.

She nodded again, smiling wider. A relieved sigh passed through his lips, he knew if there was someone in this world that he could trust Dora's life with, was Andromeda; the amount of love she had for her was almost unbelievable. And Teddy, he needed to see that boy, hold him in his arms again, just to think about him, he wondered how he managed to not go after him until now. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back, I promise," He whispered and carefully placed her hand on the bed.

"I won't take long," He advised his mother-in-law, but she shook her head.

"Take as long as you need. Oh, and Remus?" She called. "Since Nymphadora can't… You remember where she kept the bottles, don't you?"

"I do," Remus confirmed. "I'll give it to him."

Walking out the room he felt someone collide against him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Lupin," said the young healer, adjusting her glasses on her nose. "I've found her, she's… Oh," She added, seeing the room he had just left. "You've found her too."

"I did," He smiled. "I was going to visit my son and maybe take a shower, eat something…" He explained. "Unless you rather check me up first…?"

"Oh, hm, no!" She shook her head. "Go see your boy. It's best to put on bandages after the shower anyway…" She added, blushing slightly.

"Will do," Remus assured her as he walked away.

He knew he was in absolutely no shape to apparate so, he went through the hall, down the stairs until the first floor, where there was a couple of mantels and he floo to the Tonks's house. He stepped in the empty living-room, not a sound was heard in the house. As he got the bottle in the kitchen, he wondered if Mrs. Weasley was asleep, but when he opened the door for his wife's old room a minute later, he found out she was not.

Molly was sitting on the bed, visibly thinner. She was paler and the bags under her eyes indicated that she had not slept for days. Her gaze was lost on the cot before her and she did not move a muscle when Remus came in.

"Molly?" He called, but he received no answer. "Molly," He called again, louder this time and she turned her head to him.

"Remus, oh, I'm sorry," She stood up, opening her arms to him. "How're you?"

"Fine," He answered, hugging her.

"Good," She choked and Remus realised she had been hugging him far stronger than she normally would. He loosened his arms, but she would not let go. "Good," She sobbed with her arms still tightly around him.

"Molly…" He sat them both on the bed. "Molly, don't. I'm here. It's okay," And he could not help but to remember the day he first had her sobbing in his arms, about three years ago after seeing what had been the scarier boggart of her life.

"No… i- it's not… F- F- Fred!" She finally let go of him and was hiding her face in her hands, but he kept his arms around her. "H- He didn't- He- He won't…"

His browns twisted in a frown as he heard her words. Surely he hadn't… No, it was not possible. Not Fred, not the twin who had tormented his classes almost five years ago, not him, not the boy who teased him about having a cub. No… He let go of her and tried, in vain, to make her look at him.

"Molly… Molly, is he…? Did he…?" She nodded fiercely, more tears falling down her cheeks. "Oh, Molly," He rubbed his hands up and down on her back, trying to offer her the comfort she could never have.

Until he heard a cry. The cry. The cry he did not know he had been missing, the cry his ears got used to hearing, the cry that had awaken him at night, the cry that made his heart fill with joy, the cry that made him so happy to the point of feeling guilty because of the woman before him, who had just lost her son.

"Oh, right…" Molly tried to regain control over her breathing. "You're here for… You should…" She wiped the tears from her face.

Remus stood up, but before he could step towards the cot, he felt a tug in his arm.

"I wasn't going to let him starve, you know," She swallowed hard. "I wasn't going to let him starve…" She repeated and Remus couldn't help but to be impressed at how similar the present day had become to that day at Grimmauld Place.

"I know, Molly," He assured her. "I know."

Remus closed the distance that separated him from his son and before he knew, a smile had spread across his lips. It was him. Teddy, his son. Crying and struggling with the blanket. That green-haired baby was his little boy. He knew green was never the best of colours, there was always something wrong when his hair was green, he hoped food was all he wanted right now. "Shh," He said, taking the boy and rocking him in his arms. "Daddy's here now, it's all right, it's all right," He told him in a smooth voice and the boy's cries died a bit. He offered him the bottle, but the baby refused it. "It's okay, it's Mummy's, you can take it."

Molly got up and walked to them.

"He's been fighting the bottle," She informed him. "Not used to it, you know, but we don't really have a choice. Here," She got the bottle from his hand and put a bit from it in her hand, letting a few drops fall on the baby's lips. For the first time, Remus saw a shadow of a smile cross her face when the boy licked it. "Try again," She handed him the bottle and he offered it to his son, watching as he slowly started to take it. "There you go, good boy."

"Thank you, Molly," He said, as she sat back on the bed, "for everything."

She shook her head at the small smile he offered her.

"It's nothing," She wiped the rest of her tears as if trying to stop herself from crying more. "You would've done the same for me."

They stood in silence as he finished feeding his son, put a cloth over his shoulder to help him burp then back to the cot, where his hair slowly morphed to a light blue as he drifted back to sleep.

"Would you watch him?" Even though, he already knew the answer, he felt the need to ask and explain himself. "I just need to…"

"Of course," She nodded.

His body was in need for a long bath, but his mind was not in the same place so, he took a quick shower, poorly cleaning his wounds. He grabbed clean shirt and trousers, which were still there from when he moved in with his wife, put on a pair of shoes and went to the kitchen. He prepared a quick sandwich for himself, not taking more than ten minutes to eat it and to walk back into Dora's room.

Teddy had barely moved since he had put him there, he was still peacefully dreaming when he kissed his forehead.

"I love you," He whispered before turning to Molly. "I should get back… Will you be all right?"

"Yes, yes," She tried to smile. "Go see your wife, let me know as soon as there are any good news."

"Will do."

Remus used the floo back to St. Mungo's and walked his way back to where his wife was.

"Anything?"

"No," Andromeda sighed, getting up.

He sat on the chair she had been occupying a minute ago.

"You should go get some rest," He advised her. "I'll stay here with her now."

She was just stepping out the room when the young healer came in.

"Oh, there you are," She said. "I was wondering if you had come back already. Come, let's have you checked."

Remus smiled apologetically at Andromeda, but she shook her head and took her seat back as he walked out the room with the healer. She led him to a room that was not as chaotic as the rest of the building and conjured all sorts of bandages and pots with a fair amount of potions. He clenched his teeth as he took off his shirt. When he finally dared to open his eyes, he did not know which one of them had been blushing more. The healer stared at his scars, blinking a couple more times than it seemed necessary before she began running her wand through all his cuts, the minor ones closing immediately, the deeper ones getting thinner. She gave him a potion to drink as she started placing a few bandages on the cuts that did not close.

"Forgive me, but I don't know your name," He said, handing the glass back to her.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry," She cleared her throat. "Campbell, sir, Jessica Campbell."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Campbell."

"Likewise, Mr. Lupin."

He smiled as she continued to treat his wounds and half an hour later, she had finally finished with it, having instructed him how to change the bandages.

"Thank you," He said, buttoning his shirt as she walked away.

She turned her head for him, slightly startled and smiled. "Sure."

Remus walked back to the room his wife was and smiled at his mother-in-law.

"You can go now," He informed her.

Andromeda got her purse and began searching for something in it.

"Let me know if anything… if anything changes," She asked, taking her wand out of the bag.

"I will," He sat down and watched as Andromeda disapparated.

Only now he realised the sun outside. _Must be around noon_, he thought, seeing the position of the sun. He held her hand, watching her face as the minutes passed. The minutes became hours, night had already fall when he saw Andromeda walking back into the room, he did not expect her here so soon, but she raised the bottle in her hand as if explaining.

"The one you gave him was the last one," She related. "Just got this one from a stock they have here. It's not the same, but… will have to do," She bit her lip. "How's she?"

"Same," He said, standing and checking her temperature on her forehead. "There really isn't something we can do?"

"I've asked them a thousand times," She explained, shaking her head. "They ought to be arriving with her potion soon, though. If you want, I can spend the night-"

"Andromeda," He smiled. "I have literally slept two days straight; don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon. I'll stay with her," He gave her a curt nod. Not many times she had seen so much resolution in his eyes, at that moment, she knew he would do anything for her. "How's Teddy?" He asked, almost as though he wanted to take the tension out of the room.

"Fine, he's fine," She nodded. "Soon, will be hungry though," She smiled fondly.

"Yeah…" He crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring her smile in his lips. "Come back in the morning," He asked her, knowing how worried she was about her daughter. "I'll stay with him tomorrow and you can… stay here."

Andromeda nodded in response and looked anguished at her daughter before leaving.

During the night St. Mungo's became quieter, most of the patients were sleeping and most of the candles were extinguished. For hours, under the light of a single candle in the middle of the room she shared with another five wounded wizards, he watched as she slept. Hours became days with Remus and Andromeda taking shifts to take care of Teddy and Dora, being aided here and there by Molly, Harry or whoever was available and wanted to keep an eye upon the boy whose hair changed colours as he slept. It was not until the end of the second day, when Remus arrived to allow Andromeda to go home and kissed Dora's lips that she finally opened her eyes.

"Good Merlin, it's you," Tonks's voice was not above a whisper and soon she had closed her eyes again. She meant to jump on his neck, but every single inch of her body seemed to be aching. Remus watched her open-mouthed for an instant, he did not know what he rather do, hug her, kiss her, ask her how she was, if she was in any pain. "Thought I'd need to hex someone to oblivion- Where's my wand?"

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda returned to her senses before Remus did and hugged her. "How are you?"

"Suffocating," She answered, frowning slightly and her mother let her go.

Remus simply smiled at the sight of her, finally talking and refusing the mothering.

"All right?" He managed to ask her, holding her hand.

She reached out for his face, tracing his cheek with her thumb, almost as though she was checking to see if he was indeed real.

"All right," She answered.

Dora sat down and hugged his neck, crying silently as her hair quickly morphed to green.

"I thought-" She choked. "I saw you… I didn't know if- if it was…"

He tightly wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm here," He assured her. "We're both here. We'll be okay," He let go off her and wiped her tears. "You shouldn't have gone, though."

"I couldn't stand…" She swallowed hard. "Not knowing if you would come back or not… Not knowing what was happening… And I knew I could help," She bit her lip, her gaze lost on the wall across the room. "I saw you and I saw him- Dolohov, and you were looking at me and he was going to kill you and it was all my fault," She closed her eyes, a couple more tears falling down her cheeks.

She could still see everything happening, she could see Remus's eyes upon her, Dolohov preparing the curse as she shouted her only hope. She could still hear him yelling the two words that would take her husband's life, she could still see him falling, not knowing which curse had hit him. She could still hear her aunt's laugh when she saw at what she had been looking. She could still remember how it was to explode the wall behind Bellatrix and see the look in her face as she prepared the curse. She could still hear those two words coming from the Death Eater's lips.

"So, I knocked you out," She said, her fingers on her own bottom lip. "I exploded the wall behind Bellatrix, trying to distract her, but suddenly she was behind me and she was going to kill me and- and- and I don't know, we dueled for a while and she was beating me... One. More. Damn. Time. And then... everything went dark... Someone- _or something_ must've knocked me out too... I'm sorry," She buried her face on his chest. "I was a coward, I got you out of the fight, but I couldn't bear to see you die, I swear, I- I- Oh, what Mad-Eye would say?"

"Dora, don't-" He wiped her tears away. "Dora, listen to me. You saved my life! He was beginning to beat me too, it was only a matter of time," He explained. "You didn't get yourself killed and if I know you well enough like I think I do, more people own you with their lives," He awaited a second until she nodded, hiding her eyes with her fists. "Merlin, Dora, if he wasn't happy with you saving so many lives then he can go to Hell because… because of you our son will be raised by his parents and-" He hugged her again, unsure if she was happy or sad with him telling Mad-Eye to go to Hell. "I still think you shouldn't have gone though… but I'm glad you did," He smiled, kissing her forehead, causing her to chuckle.

"How is he?" She asked, tugging his shirt.

"Missing you," He answered, placing a lock of her hair behind her ear as she smiled.

"Not even sure if he knows who I am," She wiped her tears.

"I think nine months and fifteen days are enough for him to know who you are."

"…Fifteen?"

"Well," He cleared his throat, inhaling._ Here it comes._ "You've been out for four days."

"Four days!" She shouted with wide eyes. "Oh my! Who's taking care of him?"

Remus cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I am glad to inform you that you are not a single mum, ma'am," He joked. "I am! Your mother, Harry, Molly… We had a good amount of people to help us."

"What's he eating? Merlin, I need to see him!"

"Dora, calm down, you will see him," He told her. "St. Mungo's has a stock of milk for occasions lik-"

He was cut off by Andromeda coming in with a healer and they both frowned. When did she leave?

"There she is!" She exclaimed. "She's all yours!"

"No!" She shook her head. "No, no, no. I'm going to see my son now," She stood up.

"Dora, you are no help for him if you're like this," He got a firm grip on her wrist.

"Remus, I'm fine!" She yelled at him, but his eyes found hers and it was obvious to both of them that she was not in her best shape. She had no choice but to lower her voice as she spoke "I just wanna see him, just hold him for a minute- I'll come back, I'll come back later and you can have me," She turned to the healer. "I'll even leave my wand here if you want some sort of guarantee," For a split second she wondered where her wand was for a second time, but it was quickly vanished from her mind. "But lemme see him… Please."

Andromeda watched as her daughter pleaded with her gazing falling upon her husband and she stepped forward.

"I'll go get him," She announced. "You stay here and I'll go get him. It will only take a few minutes and we can get both things done."

Tonks looked from her husband to her mother, she still wanted to leave the building and go get her baby for herself, but she knew how much them all wanted to make sure she was okay. She clenched her teeth before exhaling heavily.

"Fine…" She jumped on the bed, pouting. "Go!" She gestured for her mother to hurry up and bring her son to her. Dora could see the reprehension in her mother's gaze for treating her like that, but she chose to ignore it.

She allowed her husband to take off her T-shirt and leant on the wall as Jessica began to work on her. Remus kissed her forehead and excused himself, promising to be back in a minute. Spells, bandages, potions, pomades, they all seemed to be thrown upon her at once. Her husband was back just in time to hear the healer explaining to her how to take care of everything, just like she had done with Remus. Tonks was about to put her shirt back on when her mother came in.

At the mere sight of that bunch of cloths, her heart sped off. The next instant, her mother was carefully putting him in her arms. Tears came pouring when Remus leant his forehead on hers and they watched those beautiful blue eyes becoming the exact same shade of brown of hers and the light green of the few hairs she was able to see, shift into bright pink. This was her little baby. The little boy she loved more than anything in the whole world, the little boy she had just risked her life so he could live in a happier and safer world. The tears that were threatening to fall finally came down her cheek as her concerns about him vanished.

"Then you say he doesn't know you," Remus chuckled.

A single tear fell from her face to the baby's cheek and she wiped it away, until she could not see the smallest sign of it, almost as though she was trying to take all her concerns away from him and keep him in the bubble of innocence forever.

"He loves you, Dora," Remus said as she held him even closer to her. "He can't live without you."

"I love you, Teddy," She kissed his forehead. "I love you, I'm sorry, I didn't-" Tonks closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, looking up as she tried to calm down.

Remus wiped away the tears and kissed her cheek. He could almost see everything that was going through her mind at that moment. The extra load of hormones from the pregnancy, guilty from leaving their son when she was supposed to have stayed home, happiness from surviving the battle, cowardice from doing what she had to do to save their lives.

"It's all right," He murmured in her ear. "We're all right."

"I know," She wiped the rest of her tears as her husband fondly smiled at her, she still surprised him, she was so much stronger than she looked. "I know."

"Bet there's someone who's hungry," He chuckled before kissing her forehead.

"Yeah," She sniffed, unclasping her maternity bra and offering her breast for her son to take.

Dora had missed this. The feeling of feeding her son; being his source of, not only food, but also life. The feeling of his little palm on her skin, as though there was nothing in the world but the two of them. She caressed the back of his hand and he grabbed her finger. No amount of will could have stopped the smile from coming to her lips.

"So, it's true what I heard about the Lupins being finally reunited."

Tonks was already grinning when her eyes confirmed what her ears already knew, her best friend, Olivia Kingdom, had entered that room.

"Sweet good Merlin!" Her eyes widened. "I can't believe this! Don't just stand there, come here!" She opened her arm that was not holding her son.

The young woman had her light hair loosened and falling on her shoulders; a new and deep scar near her chin was highlighted by her pale skin. Olivia walked over and squeezed her as tight as it was possible without hurting the new-born.

"Gosh, I missed you!"

"I missed you too." She let go of her. "So, this is little Teddy." She smiled as the baby watched her curiously.

"Yes, he is." Dora smiled proudly.

"Hi, kidder," she said in a smooth voice. "Your mummy is crazy-"

"Hey!"

"-but you know what they say, the crazy ones are the best," She winked before kissing her friend's cheek. "He's gorgeous, Dora. Congratulations," She added with a smile, looking at Remus.

"Thanks." She blinked, tenderly.

"You remember Alex." Olivia held her hand for the man still standing by the door. He was about six feet tall, flat brown hair which fell upon his strong features; he was wearing a plain white T-shirt with brown trousers.

"Wotcher, Alex!" She smiled as Alex walked over and held her hand.

"Hello," He greeted with a nod, going to stay behind his wife.

"There's mum," Tonks gestured for her mother.

"Hi, Mrs. Tonks," Olivia waved and Andromeda nodded, smiling.

"And Remus," She grinned, tilting her head to her husband.

"Hey, Remus," Olivia offered her hand to shake. "Thanks for the heads up," She added when he shook it.

Dora did not know if she got happy for her husband contacting her friend or angry with the fact that he did not let her know of it, so she just stared open-mouthed in a sort of half-way between the two.

"Knew you'd love the surprise," He kissed the top of her head, grinning.

She rolled her eyes before looking away from him.

"What? Somebody needed to send word that you were all right," He explained.

Tonks ignored him for Teddy coughed, letting go of her breast and Remus stepped forward to get the baby and take the job of burping him.

"So, where you guys staying?" Dora asked as she clasped her bra and put on her T-shirt.

"The Leaky."

"Are you serious?" Tonks asked with a frown.

"Well, yeah. We didn't wan-"

"Go get your things," She commanded. "You're staying with us."

"No, Dora, it's just a few more nights," Olivia argued.

"All the more reason," Tonks grinned, jumping out of the bed and whimpering at the sudden weight of her body on her legs, apparently, some of her body parts were still aching. "It's just a few more nights," She added, ignoring the steps they gave forward to help her.

"Come on, we need to check out of here," She addressed to her husband.

"I don't want to give you any trouble," alleged Olivia.

"If anything, you're going to give Remus some trouble and well," Tonks shrugged. "Since you know him so well, it won't be a problem."

Now, it was his turn to roll his eyes at her grin.

"What about Charlie?" She kneeled, to get her coat under the bed. "Did he come with you guys?"

"Course, he wasn't going to let you have all the fun, was he?" Olivia chuckled.

"Oh, so the git's just too busy eating his mother's food that can't come visit a friend at the Hospital, right?" Tonks asked, standing up.

"No… Actually, he's…" Olivia looked at Remus for support and Tonks straightened her eyes.

"What?" She wanted to know. Her husband used his free hand to pat the bed, indicating for her to sit on it, but she did not move. What could have been so bad that Remus didn't want her standing? Was he…? No, Charlie couldn't have been… No, not Charlie… "What?" She repeated, more urgently.

"Dora," Remus began, looking into her eyes. "It's…" He cupped her cheek in his hand, wishing that he could do anything to protect her, but sadly, there was no easy way to say it. "It's Fred, he didn't… He didn't make it."

"He's d- de- dead?" she asked, shaking her head slightly and barely seeing her husband nodding. But Fred… Always joking around and teasing everybody, how could he be dead? Always cracking a joke to enlighten the room and their shop was going so well... how could he be dead? They had lost so many by now and yet, it would never be easy to deal. And poor Molly… Tonks could only imagine how it felt to lose a child, surely she would be lost without Teddy, she could barely think about it. She knew what Mad-Eye would say, that there was nothing we could do for him now so, it was best to move on, but how many more had they lose? How many more had lost their lives for this cause? Was it even worth it? Everything they've been through? "Who else?"

"I'm not sure…" Remus turned back to Olivia. "I've been here and at home most of the time…"

"Well, a fair amount of students from what I know, the list is actually a bit long-" She explained. "There are still people dying from complications," She looked around. "But from the Order, right now, from the top of my head, I can only remember Dedalus and Hestia."

Tonks bit her lip, anguished.

"And what about Patrick?" She asked, remembering the couple's son, six-months-old and had already lost both his parents. Was it worth it? Surely he was not the only orphan, more children would live without their parents… Was it worth it? Dora shook her head. There was nothing she could do to try to fix it and Teddy would live in a happy, safe world, she would give her own life for him to have that chance.

"Her mother, Elisa Jones, from what I've heard, is still alive and will take care of him," Olivia sighed. "Reckon he's everything she's got left."

"Don't forget the most important!" Alex spoke, waiting a moment until all the frowns stared at him and grinned. "Voldemort."

A smile appeared in all the faces, Dora's eyes widened and a small laugh scaped her lips.

"He's... gone..." Her hair colour rapidly changing to her favourite shade of pink.

"Gone for good," whispered Remus in her ear as they wrapped their arms around each other. "Harry ended him."

As their smiles faded, they stood there, in complete silence, in an unspoken agreement to honour the deaths until Teddy began to cry. Tonks got him in her arms, trying to stop his cries.

"We should go," She announced. "And I'm serious. You two are staying with us," She reminded them.

Olivia exhaled heavily, looking at Alex with a half-smile.

"We'll go get our things then," She said, defeated.

"You better," Dora chuckled, following her husband out the room.

The Kingdoms left St. Mungo's to get their belongings at the Leaky Cauldron, Andromeda disapparated shortly after them, but not without insisting for them to let her know if they needed anything at all and giving Tonks's wand back to her.

Remus and Dora paid for the care they received at the Hospital, received more instructions on how to treat the wounds and when they should head back for another round of potions for the pain. A couple of minutes later, they were already leaving the fireplace of their house. They were tired, wounded, aching and still needing to organise a few things before they could go to bed, but the sight of their own home had a wonderful soothing effect upon them. They took a minute to contemplate the view of it. Days had passed since someone had been there, but it would never lose the feeling of home for them.

"Rem?" Dora called, turning her face to him, her voice low and needy.

Remus turned his face to her, bending down slightly as he looked at her.

"Yes?" He whispered in response, their gazes slowly falling from eyes to lips.

"…Never mind."

She closed the distance between their lips and it was as though her whole body exploded with the touch. Too long had passed since they had really shared their last kiss, in that very room, before Remus went for the Battle, leaving his wife and son behind. His tongue playing with her lips was almost begging to be allowed in and she did absolutely nothing to stop it. He deepened the kiss and he nearly shivered at the new sensation. With his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth, she could not help but to let out a moan, the kind of moan from deep down her throat, the kind of moan he loved to hear and he knew he could make her let out so many others- He broke apart and licked his lips as he watched her bite her bottom lip.

"We should…"

"Yeah…" She sighed before shaking her head to focus on what they needed to do.

They climbed the stairs and Remus opened their room's door so his wife could put their son in his cot and take care of everything for him to sleep.

He left and walked in the guest's room, organising everything for the couple who would spend a few nights with them. Pillows, bed linen, towels. He had just fetched a blanket when he heard the knock on their door, followed by the hurried steps of his wife and the usual curse right before the sound of glass hitting the ground. He smiled fondly as he left the room into the corridor, some things would never change.

Remus watched as she greeted and led them to the room he had just left.

"Everything you need there," He said. "However, had I forgotten something, please, let me know and I get it right away," He finished with a curt nod.

"Oh, thanks," Olivia smiled. "It's very sweet of you, to have us here… Specially right after you're back from the Hospital-"

"Nah, don't worry about it!" Tonks shook her head. "Just have a good night of sleep."

"We will," Alex assured her, opening their trunk.

"Good night," Remus wished as they stepped out of the room and into theirs.

Back in thier room, he took off his pyjamas from the drawer, throwing them on the bed before he started to take his clothes off. She got the pyjamas shirt and put it on, buttoning three of them before entering under the covers to watch her husband undress and put on the trousers she had left on the bed. Dora crawled onto him as soon as he was on the bed and he put his arms around her.

"I've missed you," She said, only now realising that she was meaning nothing but simply having him by her side.

"I missed you too," He kissed her forehead at the same time her stomach growled.

"I'm hungry," She announced, causing both of them to chuckle. How long had passed since she had waked up? It felt like… too long. And she had not eaten anything but the sips of potions the healer gave her.

Across the room, Teddy began to cry.

"You're not the only one," Remus kissed her again and let go of her.

"But I just fed him!" Tonks puffed.

"Briefly," He added. "Maybe he didn't like St. Mungo's, he didn't seem very comfortable there or maybe he's just missing you," He offered her the crooked smile she loved. "Anyway, meet you in the kitchen," He instructed. "I'll make you a sandwich," He was sliding his legs out the bed when he felt her hand on his wrist, he slowly turned his head to hers.

"I love you, Remus," She said when their gazes met.

"I love you too, Dora," And he bent over to kiss her, tenderly, on the lips.

If cuddling, late night nursing and making sandwiches on pyjamas were what life after the War was like, they wished it never ended.

* * *

**A/N:** So yeah, if J.K. Rowling wanted an orphan, she can have Patrick Diggle, I killed Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle and made them have a baby, that's your AU. Teddy Lupin is growing up with his parents because Remus and Dora didn't die, I don't know what you're talking about. Thank you very much for reading this far and I would love you forever if you left your thoughts on the box bellow, takes a minute and means a lot, all right?


	2. Tears Of A Phoenix

**A/N1:** Hello, everyone! So sorry for taking forever, but I'm really writing as fast as I can, I promise! :) Thank you soooo much for all the reviews, they always keep me going when I'm tired, believe me, you guys have a special spot in my heart. S2 Enjoy!

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**CHAPTER 2: Tears Of A Phoenix**

However, as they too soon would come to discover, life after a harsh war such as the one they had just fought under no circumstances would be so simple.

* * *

It was by far the worst field she had ever seen and she had seen plenty. Spells flying all around her, explosions in every wall, dust hampering her breathing and sight, nearly deafening noise; she was running towards the school grounds, begging for him to still be alive, hoping he would still be standing.

All of a sudden, she heard the voice she hated the most.

"SCUUUM!"

Before she could turn around to where the voice of her Death Eater aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, had come, Tonks felt a stinging pain on her back and her face had hit the floor not a second later.

That laugh had haunted her existence more times than she cared to remember, but not now for at that moment, Dora was happy to hear it. Laughter in a duel always meant a second of distraction and it was more than sufficient to allow her to re-start her quest.

With the thick, scarlet liquid coming from her nose, all the way down her chin and tasting the metal flavour in her mouth, Tonks zigzagged through the corridors, racing curse after curse she could hear her aunt throwing upon her, firing hexes back at her opponent which were interspersed with jinxes shot at any other Death Eater and shield charms casted at any confederate her eyes were able to get a glimpse of. Walls were brought down all around her, if by enemies or allies she would never know, but more than once they nearly were her downfall. Had she been running somewhat slower, had she been running somewhat faster, a mountain of stones, an errand spell or a stream of flame could have been her doom. She reached the oak front doors and as though she was magnetically attracted to his figure; between sturdy giants, colossal spiders and bewitched suits of armours and statues, right in the centre of the colourful firework of spells, her glazed eyes fell upon him.

"Aww, look how cute!" mocked Bellatrix. "She's reunited with her HALF-BREED!"

Dora wished with her entire being that he had not heard. All in vain. The adrenaline in her system made everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, there, far from her, her husband's head was gradually turning to her when she saw the Death Eater's grin. No, not her aunt, Antonin Dolohov, the one Remus had been fighting with.

"Dora," she heard his voice in her head, but his lips did not move, as though her brain knew how much she wanted to take that sound within her.

Dolohov was out of her reach; she knew any spell she threw at him would not be able to get to its final target, Remus on the other hand…

"_Avada Kedrava_!"

"_Deficimus_!"

Tonks only caught a glance of the purple and the green racing to get to him, every fibre in her body needed for him to not be hit by the killing curse, but all she saw was his immobile body falling on the floor. Head and limbs hitting the ground and by the strength of the impact, thrown back into the air, just to fall alongside his torso one more time, in unnatural angles.

"NOOOOOO!"

_He's not dead_, she told herself, _he's not dead!_ She needed to make sure, she would pretend he was dead of course, but she needed to make sure. Just a second. She just needed a second to make sure he was alive and she would finally kill that loathsome excuse for a woman behind her. That laugh made itself to be heard once again. She began to run, but someone was holding her.

"Let me go!" demanded Tonks. "Let me go!"

They were still holding her back.

"Let me go!" Those hands upon her… Why wouldn't they let her go? She would need no more than a second to make sure there was still a pulse. To make sure his heart was still beating. "He's not dead!" Beating for her. And for her only.

"Stop! Dora, don't!"

That voice…

"Let me go!"

"Dora, it's me!"

The hands let go off of hers and moved to cup her cheek. Tears and sweat were mixed all over her face. Her own hands moved to grip firmly upon her holder's wrists.

"He's not dead…"

She was panting. Everything was dark. A baby was crying.

"I'm here, Dora, it's all right."

She was not at Hogwarts, she was home, in her bed, in her bed with her husband. Remus held her tightly to his naked chest, praying to every wizard-god that he could somehow, _anyhow_ ease her spirit or sooth her mind.

"Let me go…" she asked one more time, ceasing to fight him.

"Shh, it's me," he assured her. "I'm here, it's all right."

Desperately, Dora wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. He was not dead. He was here, here with her. Everything would be all right.

"Give me a minute," Remus asked, taking her arms from him.

But Tonks grabbed his hand, looking anguished at him. No, where was he going? What he could possibly need to do at that very moment? Why couldn't he stay? That was when she realised that the new-born's cries were still on the back of her mind.

"I'll be right back, Dora," he explained, putting his hand on hers and looking deeply inside her eyes. "I'm just going to put him back to sleep. I'll be back in a minute," he kissed her forehead and then her left cheek before walking away.

Tonks hugged her legs under the blanket. He was not dead. She realised the tears coming down her eyes. They were home. She started to hear his voice, talking with their son. The battle was won. Her husband started to hum a few bars of a song she did not know. She wanted to go after him, but she was completely aware that distressed as she was right now, she was far from the best to her son. Above all, she wanted to protect that baby against all hurt in this world. Wait, was his voice becoming farther? He was still there. It was over. The baby's cries started to die. They would be all right.

Remus put Teddy carefully back on the cot and watched as Dora quickly raised her head to him as soon as he was close to their bed. Although, he was fully aware of how strong she was, he wanted so much to be able to protect her from every single thing that would cause her any harm. He lay on the bed and she clung onto him. He started to rub his hand up and down her back, letting her know that he was by her side.

"I'm sorry I awake you," she apologised with closed eyes. After Teddy's arrival, they were getting such a short amount of hours to actually sleep that she could barely believe that she had cut off his rest.

Remus moved his hand to her hair, running his fingers through her locks and hoping the green would soon leave it, before kissing her forehead one more time. He knew she had to be far too distressed to actually request for forgiveness for waking him up. He took in a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her once again, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

"You didn't," he finally answered.

She opened her eyes, looking up and meeting his gaze where she could see, reflected in his, the pain that was in her own eyes. Remus nodded. He had had a nightmare as well.

Would this all ever end? When they thought they were finally safe, their own minds were haunting them. Would this all ever end? Their mission was accomplished, the battle was won, but would this all ever end? Unforgettable memories being evocated by their nous, when would the confrontation end?

If not even when the warfare actually finished they believed that things would be all right, when would they then? She needed to believe that things would get better. Love. As Dumbledore always told them, love is the most powerful weapon. Love would guide the survivors through the process of healing. Love would act as though tears of a Phoenix upon an open wound for when one is fighting an inside battle, one must use an inside weapon.

"It's over, Rem," Dora told him, clinging to him as if for just an infinite second she could also cling to her words and its meaning. "It's over," and finally she started to understand what it all really meant. They would be happy, perhaps not right now, not in that night nor in the next morning, but they would. She smiled wide, her hair morphing to that cherry shade of red that he loved so much, the one that meant but one thing. Love. Love for him. Happiness would come.

"It's over, Dora." He rested his chin on her shoulder. "It's finally over." Shutting his eyes, he allowed himself a moment to smile. Voldemort was gone. There were no more reasons to worry. Dora was finally home with him. There were no more reasons to fret, to lose his sleep or sustain his fears. He kissed her shoulder. The war was behind them. This was a new stage in his life- _their_ life. The mark of a new beginning.

"What did he want?" She asked, not daring to let go of him.

"Wet nappy," Remus informed her.

"Ah."

"Soon he'll be hungry, though."

"Why?" She asked, opening her eyes and letting them travel to search for the clock on the bedside table. "What time is it?"

"Don't know," confided Remus, smiling against her skin, "but there's milk upon my chest."

"Blimey!" Hearing him chuckle, she let go of him and grabbed the blanket to wipe it clean. "Sorry... He's eating so much now."

"He's missed you, don't worry about it," he murmured. "Come here," he asked. "Just lay here with me for another minute." Something about his eyes told her that he needed her embrace just as much as she needed his.

Half-sitting, supported by her elbow, half-lying on the bed, Dora bit her lip looking at him. Just one minute. Teddy probably would not be up for another minute… and she would most definitely cherish every second. She closed her eyes for an instant and took in a deep breath. Just one minute. She lay on top of him, placing her head on his chest as he covered her back with his arms, she began to hear the thump of his steady heartbeat. She loved that man, she loved him so much.

Lupin watched as she carefully placed her head on his naked chest. How could someone be so beautiful? She was simply marvellous. Closing her eyes, a smile spread across her lips as their breathing synchronised, her head slightly rising with his upper body as he inhaled. She had given to him the most precious gift he could have ever received. He moved his hands to her hair and started massaging her scalp; he would love to do anything that could help take away any soreness she might had. He loved that woman, he loved her so much.

"Better feed him before he cries," she reminded him, kissing a deep scar on the centre of his chest and getting up.

As Dora took Teddy in her arms, Remus adjusted the pillows on her side of the bed to provide her a better position to breastfeed, she sat down and immediately, he took the pillow behind his back and put on her lap so she could place the baby on it and rest her arms a bit more.

"No, you don't have to." She tried to refuse the gesture. "I can hold him."

"Please, love, take it," insisted Remus. "I have other plans."

She gazed at him, hazily puzzled.

"I'll take care of your feet," he grinned, kissing her forehead and reaching for his wand. "_Lumos_!" He walked over to her side of the bed, taking the goblet on the bedside table and pointing his wand to it. "_Aguamenti_!"

Tonks, who had been positioning their new-born, looked at him with a half-smile and Remus's lips parted as he saw her lips form the words 'Thank you', even though no sound came from them. Why had she not voiced her words? She was unsure, but the inwardness of the situation certainly solicited a more intimate deed. He placed his wand on the bed, guaranteeing that the light was not directly turned to the baby, but still illuminated him enough so his wife could see him. Sitting at the end of the mattress, he heard Teddy gurgle as he took his mother's breast. He took her left foot in his hand and began massaging it, giving special attention to each of her toes.

"Planning on doing something tomorrow?" asked Remus.

"I don't know," she answered with furrowed brows. "What's there to be done?"

"Hogwarts is being reconstructed," he informed her, "but that's no place for you," he added quickly before she had the chance to say anything, getting an amused smile from her. With Remus being her caregiver, it was not entirely bad to be looked after.

"How's the Diagon Alley?" she wondered. "We could use some shopping."

With the war raging at a hate not even Remus had seen before and the main Wizarding places for shopping closed due Death Eater activity, buying the things their son would need was not high on their priorities as a result, most of the things Teddy had were borrowed from Molly's children or what Andromeda had kept from when Tonks herself was an infant. Naturally, the whole Order of the Phoenix had presented them with a gift and they had appreciated each one of them.

"I can wend there," offered Remus. "See what's open, if it's worth of getting you out of the house."

Tonks took in a deep breath, smiling before turning to the baby on her lap, when Teddy's half-closed eyelids opened somewhat more and became focused on her face.

"You and me are spending the whole day home tomorrow, Teddy," her tone low and playful as the boy started to curiously watch her.

Remus frowned, placing her left foot on the bed and taking the right one in his hands.

"What?" asked Tonks with a small layer of mockery. "You and I know you're not gonna let me go there," she said, moving Teddy to the other side.

"But-"

Dora stopped in the middle of the action to raise her brows as if daring him to say otherwise.

"The gist is that I just don't think there'll be something for you to do at the Diagon Alley," he reasoned. "Besides tiring yourself with something I could easily get done for you."

"And what about the unedited version?" questioned Dora with a small grin.

"Unedited version?"

"Yeah, you said it's the gist so, what else?"

"There's nothing else," he told her. "Just myself, this humble werewolf, doing everything within his power to aid in each tiny thing his better half needs," Remus warily placed her right foot on the mattress and stood up. "After all, this marvellous, _splendid_ woman," He walked over her and got down in one knee, placing his right hand over his heart, "presented me the most magnificent, _precious_ gifts I could ever be blessed with, her love and this perfect, _wonderful_ baby boy in her arms."

"No, Rem, don't-" With a chocking voice, she lightly hit his ribs, indicating for him to get up. "Stop, I'm not- I didn't-"

However, Remus Lupin had no intention of standing and utterly ignored her.

"You care for him in the finest way a mother could care for her child. In spite of it being a bit I could not ask for. You, the one I selfishly asked to be with me for as long as our hearts beat, happily lose hours of sleep just so you can provide him the best nutrition a new-born could ever have. You, the one who will stay months away from the one job you love just so you can be his guide through his first encounter with real life. You, the one who endured all those agonising weeks of late pregnancy just so he could have a better start when he left your cosy womb," he continued in the same lovesick tone he had started, trying not to relish the two tears staining her face. "You, the one I gladly perceived to be the parent with whom my son is so much more alike; him, the one who, when I am nothing more than dust in a tomb, will carry on my name. Furthermore, the one who is the reason I am here tonight, the one who saved my life. And the most important is that you wish for naught in return, naught but my love." He cautiously took the hand that was in his ribs. "For as long as this soul exists, it will be the one thing you will have, wishing or not." Closing his eyes for a moment, he devotedly kissed her hand. "Will you allow me the honour of stepping out the door of our modest home tomorrow morning and purchasing whatever is required to supply our little boy's needs?" He smiled when she nodded, there was precisely nothing he could ask her at that instant she would not agree with.

There she was, pushing him with the mere purpose of him saying the truth and admitting out loud that she was indeed right, that he would not allow her out of the house when, instead, he courteously hit her with this surprise. A declaration of love, like very few ever seen. Her husband, kneeled beside her, wearing nothing but blue pyjamas trousers which matched the shirt she had on and gallantly vowing to perpetually love her. It was too much, too much for her still altered hormones. Especially when she had not done the entire content of his speech, or perhaps she had, but he overstated each tiny thing, making it seem as though she had given her life in sacrifice. She could not help it and let out a short sob when he climbed back on his side of the bed, kneeled next to her and pressed her head against his chest, watching out for the baby on her lap. How come she deserved him?

"Thank you, Nymphadora," Remus kissed her tears away as she wrapped her free arm on his lower back, "for everything."

"So long you don't put me on a pedestal again," she smiled as he sat down, caressing the baby's now dark blue hair, "as if I'm a martyr, a heroine or something," Because the boy was only listening to his parents and not sucking for some minutes, she carefully detached their son from her breast and placed his head above the cloth over her shoulder.

"But, love," refuted Remus, "you fought so many battles, you saved my life and so many others along the way. Many wizards owe you their lives. You are a war heroine."

Tonks leant her forehead on his, wishing she could freeze that momentum and admire forever the pure love in the golden depths of his eyes.

"Then you are a war hero."

"Me? No, I'm jus-"

She pressed her lips on his to prevent him from saying anything else.

"Careful there, mister," she grinned, "not gonna lie when your son is in the room, huh? What kind of man would he grow up to be?"

"I'll be content enough if he's anything like you," he replied in an almost laugh whisper.

Dora lifted the baby from her shoulder and held him as if showing something to her husband.

"If his looks are like his personality," she testified, "he's all yours."

"Let's not-"

"Get me the carrier, will you?" she asked, buttoning the shirt with one hand as Remus reached for his wand. "Yeah, let's not. We're both awesome parents."

"_Accio_! Awesome parents..." he trailed off with a small chuckle after getting a hold of the flying object. "Going somewhere?" he asked with a light tilt of his head towards the carrier.

"Eh, no." She shook her head. "Just going to leave him here so I don't have to get up and walk to the cot the next feed." She placed the baby inside the carrier, making sure he was well adjusted at every end.

"I can get him for you..."

"It's all right, sweetheart." Dora cupped his cheek in her hand, her thumb trailing his cheek. "He'll be okay for a couple of hours."

Remus swallowed as he watched his wife carefully placing him beside their bed and drinking the goblet of water he had put for her. He got back his pillow from her lap; just a couple of hours, he would indeed be okay, the carrier was comfortable enough. He smiled reaching for his wand.

"_Nox_!"

Tonks lay in their bed, a smile tugging the corner of her lip when she saw her husband watching her.

"Com'ere." She pulled his head to her chest, to which he put no resistance to, his right arm loosen over her stomach. She placed his cheek in the comfortable space between her breast and her shoulder. Running her fingers through his flecked with grey brown locks, she wished to take away from him all the harm she could not.

To fight evil, that was her livelihood, her occupation, that was what she had been born to do, that was what she did best and now, she found herself utterly powerless against an evil form she had no practise against. An evil form she could not defeat with a wand in her hand, firing curses, hexes or jinxes. An evil form that years of Auror Training did not teach her how to fight, did not give her the slightest idea how to proceed. She hated to feel so… impotent. With all her capabilities, she could only hope he would be all right, she could only held him close to her and believe everything would be okay, she could only trust the power of love and expect it would be enough to heal him, her love for that man.

That wonderful man who had just poured his heart out for her. Here and there she still found herself in awe at how lucky she was to be the one to end up with him. She had no idea how her heart had suddenly changed tastes, he was the complete opposite of every other bloke she ever dated. So… attentive. His love for her was clear to whoever observed them, a blind man would see plainly. But hers… She was not good with wording, she could never open her heart to him the way he so easily did. She could only hope he knew she loved him just as much as he loved her.

"You know how much I love you, d- don't you?" she whispered to the air, her gaze focused on the ceiling she could not see.

His steady breathing was her only answer. A couple of tears ran down her temples and that was exactly what she feared, that he would never know how much she loved him, that he would still think that she had some sort of ephemeral crush and it would pass just as fast as it came.

However, it was love and it would most definitely not pass. For long, she wondered about them, realising she was not ashamed of crying because of this feeling, if only every person on Earth could experience such emotion, they would understand, they would understand right away. She loved him more than anything, so much more than her own life, just not more than... Her head fell to the side and she saw her little baby, _their_ little baby peacefully sleeping inside the carrier, Teddy's hair colour dancing with the intensity of his dreams, as if nothing could ever disturb him. The little boy she so easily decided to sacrifice her life for, but thank Merlin!, it was never really required, for now she would be able to see him grow, see him laugh, see him talk and walk, see him live.

Tonks knew she should try and sleep, but deep down, she knew she did not want to sleep, not if she could have such horrifying nightmares. And maybe, maybe if she could stay up and assure that somehow his rest would be quiet and recuperative, she knew how much he must have struggled to go through these two days without her. And he did not complaint once, he did it more than willingly, he was such a great man and that was why she loved him so much. Her love for those two, family love, she did not know something could be so simple yet so powerful. A love so immense and pure that could only barely know the strength it possessed. She would do just about anything, anything if it meant that they would be able to keep on living. Dora bit her lip, her chin trembling as more tears fell. She could not take the risk of start sobbing right there and wake him up a second time. Wait- No, he had not woken up then, but she did not wish to his sleep to be disturbed once again.

As slowly as she could, she placed one hand underneath his cheek and pushed his head to the pillow before taking his hand from her torso. She had been up for quite a while and Teddy would soon need to be fed again. Wiping her tears, she walked towards the hanger to put on her dressing gown and took Teddy's carrier before leaving their room. Silently, she went to the drawing-room, but not without stumbling on the coffee table, startling the baby, who continued to sleep after she ran her hand upon his belly.

Tonks had just found a comfortable position on the couch when she heard someone climbing down the stairs. Her eyes closing just a bit as she fought the lack of light to see who was coming.

"Hey," greeted a female voice.

Relieved to see Olivia and not Remus, she smiled.

"Wotcher!"

She sat on the couch beside her and watched that for a moment before asking "Nightmare?"

Dora nodded.

"Did I wake you?"

"Nah," Olivia shook her head. "Couldn't sleep, heard you here and decided to join you in whatever it was that you were doing."

"Hm, gonna feed him in a bit… But how did y'know it was me?"

Olivia offered her a look, her features slightly crossed with incredulously, but Tonks frowned glancing back at her, she did not have a clue to what she was trying to say, though Olivia half-smiled waiting for her to find the answer to her question, Dora straightened her eyes, trying to think what could possibly have given her away. Obviously her footsteps were to some extent lighter than Remus's, but would she know the difference? Probably not, then, she tripped and startled Ted, though Remus could have been carrying him as well, but then she…

"Was it my voice?"

"No," answered Olivia with a frown. "Did you say anything?"

"I sort of hummed to soothe him," Tonks explained with a light tilt of her head towards Teddy.

"Yeah, no- Not that."

_After that I just sit and… For Merlin's sake!_

"Oh, just say it, then!"

"You tripped, Dora," her tone had an almost laugh as though she was answering the most obvious of questions.

Tonks rolled her eyes with a sharp breath and was about to tell her that Remus could have tripped too when she decided to merely exhale heavily, she had to admit, chances really were it was her.

"Course…"

An instant of silence in which Tonks simply watched the silhouette of her sleeping son, but it was broken by a somewhat high-pitched voice.

"Gosh, I'm _so_ glad you're fine!" Olivia threw herself on her and had it not been dark, she would have seen tears pouring from her friend's eyes.

"I'm all right." She smiled, placing an arm around her waist. "I'm glad you're okay too."

Quickly as she had embraced Tonks, she let go, slowly going back to sit on the other end of the couch, blinking the tears away.

"I saw you, Dora…" Olivia swallowed hard. "I saw you among a whole bunch of…" she trailed off, as if shaking her head she could make the mental image leave her just like a hair thread falling down her head, "and I ran away. I went to the grounds and just… cried. Cried my lungs out, telling myself that it wasn't you because- because it couldn't have been you, it had to be someone else- anyone! And… and as soon as it was all over, we'd fly back home and I could just pretend…"

She had hugged her own legs by now, eyes completely lost on the coffee table as she swung her body to ease the despair that insisted on sticking with her.

"Pretend that someone else had decided to dye their hair for the battle… Pretend that you were living your happy life here… I could keep on writing you and I'd just convince myself that you didn't answer because you were busy, because of- of your job and Teddy and- and you're married now-"

Olivia had buried her eyes in her hands, wiping away her tears when Dora wrapped her arms around her, not even caring that she had also hugged her legs in the process.

"I'm all right, Liv, I'm all right," she assured her.

"I know," Olivia took in a deep breath to compose herself. "Sorry. I just-"

"Always thought you had an imaginative mind," commented Dora, letting her go. "Did you think of the entire plan in a few minutes?"

Olivia grabbed the nearest cushion and threw it upon her friend. Tonks laughed, raising an arm to intercept the flying object.

"I was _desperate_!" alleged Olivia, trying hard not to yell, her eyes traveling to the baby in the carrier. "Poor Teddy wou- Ohn, he's put his little hand in his mouth!" Her lips instantly opened in a fond smile.

"He what?" Dora straightened herself to look at him and immediately stretched out her arms to take him. "It's 'cause he's hungry."

Both Olivia's brows rose as she reclined on the couch's arm.

"Thought they cried when they were hungry."

Tonks chuckled.

"So did I," she confessed, untying her gown. "But they do! It's just that when they cry, they're like _really_ hungry so, you better feed them before they cry," she smiled as he latched on her breast. "They give little cues for everything, just need to learn them. Right, Teddy?" She kissed his temple.

"You're gonna have to teach me."

"Sure," Tonks assured her. "Teddy's a Metamorphmagus so, things can get a bit easier, I think, bu-"

Slowly, she turned her head to her friend. By the silver moonlight, she could see her gawkiness being shown in the form of slightly flushed cheeks and a bit-lip being open in a shy grin. Her own mouth opened in a wide smile and had she not been holding her son, Tonks would have jumped on her. Eyes swiftly dropping from face to stomach, had it been possible for her legs were still covering it, as she released the breath she had not noticed she was holding.

"_Really?_"

"Why do you think I'm an emotional wreck!"

"I- I- Congratulations, Liv!" Waving her hand, Tonks called her for another tight hug.

"Oh my gosh! That's awesome! Does Alex- _Did you go to the battle pregnant?_"

"You are one to talk!" retorted Olivia, covering her mouth the next instant, hoping she had not woken anybody as Dora shifted Teddy so he could take her other breast. "But no- I mean, yes! Only I didn't know. The healer was patching me up after it when out of _nowhere_, I swear to you, she asked me if I authorized a few exams and turns out I'm six weeks!"

"Morning sickness? Or rather all-day-long-sickness?"

"A bit." She nodded, unhappy.

"Gets better." Olivia looked at her with slightly gloomy eyes, virtually screaming it had to improve. "It's wonderful, though. Really, you guys deserve it."

"Thank you, Dora." Olivia breathed deeply, smiling; she seemed unable to contain her own happiness. "Bit peckish," Or maybe not.

"Bet you are!" Tonks chuckled, remembering her own first weeks of gestation. "There are sandwiches on the bench," She instructed, pointing to the kitchen with her thumb.

"UK's best peanut butter?" asked Olivia, fetching them.

"No." She shook her head smiling. "Gammon and cheese, grilled, Remus made them a few hours ago."

Olivia took a bite and instantly looked at her nodding with a reassurance expression crossing her face.

"Told you," grinned Tonks performing the usual routine of belching the baby. "Honestly, it's not complicated, they don't ask for much, just love and well, for you to supply their needs, y'know, food, change nappies, two or three baths a week. Can be a bit hard because they need to eat every few hours hence, no decent sleep nights, but look," With Olivia scrunching her nose, she showed her Teddy's hand. "This is the size of his stomach, can't hold much and they digest milk really fast so… But it's worth it, it's _all _worth it."

She started to play with Teddy's hand and the boy grabbed her finger, putting a smile on her face. It really was all worth it.

"Anyway, I should put this little guy back in bed," announced Tonks, placing the baby comfortably in the carrier. "G'night, Liv."

"Night." She swallowed and smiled. "I'll just finish this and crash."

"Take your time," replied Tonks walking up the stairs.

Slowly, she approached her room, swinging Teddy in an attempt to make him fall asleep. She took off her gown, hanging it where it was earlier and laid a kiss on her son's forehead before sneaking back in bed.

"D'you wan' me to get him?" She heard her husband's sleepy voice as he rolled to his side.

"Already fed, love."

No answer came from him and Dora took it as a sign that he was not aware of his surroundings any longer, not that he had been the previous instant. She smiled fondly at him, gently kissing his cheek before nuzzling against him and placing his arm around her, to which he instinctively pulled her closer, making Tonks's lips unable to get rid of that grin and drift her mind into a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night, or rather for the three following hours when a cry coming from the baby boy in the cot would wake the couple up once again.

* * *

Morning came and with it, the lethargy of having to get up after a not very well slept night. Tonks could have sworn that he had not been eating this much the week before, although it was only a few days ago, it seemed to have happened in the past century.

"Good morning," wished Remus as her eyes slowly opened.

"Mornin'," she yawned.

Dora took a moment to admire his face watching her. She traced the deep scar alongside his right cheek and jaw line, the bags under his eyes, the wrinkle between his brows, the grey hairs covering the brown. The sunbeams coming through their pane illuminated his eyes in a way that left them shining beautifully, bringing a smile to her lips.

Remus was nothing less than astonished whilst watching her looking at him. How she was able to hold so much love in those eyes as she looked at him would never cease to intrigue him. Those eyes that, at the present instant, had acquired the exact same tone of his hair, a light brown that something, in the back of his mind, let him know she had not deliberately chosen to have. Her hair still kept that shade of cherry he loved so much. No, not because she was more beautiful with it, no, never that, she was stunning with whatever form she decided to assume, but because he knew whenever it emerged in her hair, she was thinking only about them, about how much she loved him, about how much they were happy together. The smile that came to her lips was the final touch to finish this magnificent painting before him and he could not help but to mirror it.

Tonks turned from him, cheeks flushing to a level she did not bother to cover, burying her face in the pillow. Maybe it was a bit of presumption to even for a second assume he knew what was in her mind.

"What?" wondered Remus.

"Nothing," came from a muffled voice from the pillow, which was probably the one word which would incite even more his curiosity.

"You know you can tell me," he began to slowly run his fingers through her hair.

She tried to nod.

"It's just... stupid."

"That I know it is not."

She raised her head, supporting herself in her elbows, her features slightly crossed with anger.

"You don't know what it is, how come you know it isn't stupid?"

"Because _you _are not stupid," he answered with that air of simplicity.

Tonks exhaled heavily, letting herself fall, her face hid upon the pillow for a second time.

"I was thinking about," her voice muffled once again, "this being our first day of peace... andyou'reherewithmeandyou'reperfect! There! I said it!"

Remus chuckled.

"See, not stupid," he ran his fingers upon her back. "Others may call it naff," he heard her snort at this point, "but I call it beautiful. Like you."

"_You_'re naff for calling it beautiful," in order to breathe, she lifted her head, lying on her left side, back turned to him so he would not need to stop massaging her back.

"Another point proven," indicated Lupin. "I'm not perfect."

"You know what?" asked Tonks, turning to him and without waiting for an answer, she continued "They are _my_ thoughts, hence you don't get a say. You are perfect."

Remus let out his breath smiling. Perfect was amongst the things he most definitely was not, but he knew better than to argue with his wife whenever she had that determined look in her eyes.

"Breakfast?"

"Yeah," she answered, moving to leave the bed. "Bit odd that Teddy's still asleep, isn't it?"

Remus walked to the cot and a smile immediately appeared in his lips at the sight of his sleeping son.

"_Sonorus_!" he casted, pointing his wand to the baby. "Now we'll be sure to hear when he wakes up."

"Brilliant!" she grinned already wearing decent clothes and not only the pyjamas top she had on a few seconds ago, or rather, half-decent for she had donned nothing more than a plain white old T-shirt upon bright orange shorts. Dora threw his robes at him, messing up with his hair which caused her to giggle.

Remus exhaled heavily looking at her, a cocked eyebrow as his eyes scanned her silhouette up and down.

"What?" she questioned. "Do you rather me to look beautiful for my husband? Because he's the only being that'll see me today because he won't allow me to get out of the house," she finished crossing her arms over her chest and a slight frown.

"We do have guests," he reminded her.

For a second she reanalysed what she had on, but with a shrug of unconcern, she decided she did not really care.

"But no." He approached her, already fully dressed. "You are perfect."

"I'm not perfect," retorted Tonks, rolling her eyes.

"But you know what?" he asked, placing a hand on her lower back and as she rose her brows in a mute question. "This is my thought, hence you do not get a say. You are perfect." The next instant, he pulled her closer to him and placed a kiss on her lips; right when she had uncrossed her arms and had put her hands on his back pulling him to close the inch that still separated them, he broke apart with a kind smile. "Happy First Day of Peace, Dora."

"Happy First Day of Peace, Remy," she replied, nuzzling against his chest.

He allowed himself a moment to just stay in her embrace, closing his eyes and smiling at the perspective of the first in so many to be followed he would not need to worry about the life of his loved ones. If they were together, how could their first day be anything but?

"Come on," he called. "We shouldn't be such terrible hosts."

With a moan of objection, she let go off him and he led her down the stairs towards the kitchen. Shortly after they had started preparing the first meal of the day, the Kingdoms arrived and a few minutes later, they had sat around the small table were all eating whilst their guests filled them in what had happened during the battle after they decided, as Tonks had said, to take a few days long nap.

"Horcruxes?" Remus nearly choked on the egg he had been eating. "As in more than one?"

Alexander nodded.

"Seven, according to Potter."

"Merlin's beard!" Tonks's eyes widened in surprise.

"And that's what's he's been doing during the last ten months," added Olivia when she finished chewing a sausage. "Destroying them. Or the ones that were left, at least, some had already been destroyed before. By the way, the rumours are all true, the Ministry, Gringotts, Godric's Hollow…"

"They're not going to announce it, are they?" asked Tonks, worried. "Last thing we need's to someone copy this brilliant idea," she finished with irony.

"No, don't think so," Alex answered. "Think they'll let people believe that he was just a really tough wizard."

"It's probably the bes-"

Remus was a cut off by a clamour loud enough to make the walls shake. Ears were instantly covered by hands and took them a few seconds to comprehend it was, in fact, their son crying.

"Merlin, Remus!" cursed Tonks, throwing her chair aside. "It was just to make sure we'd hear and not to wake up the entire country!" she finished, starting to run up the stairs with her husband on her heels.

"Sorry, I- I just wanted to be certain," he apologised, apprehensive.

"_Quietus_!" shouted Tonks, pointing her wand to their son the instant they entered the room. Finally free from the deafening noise, they ran to the cot. Except for the fact that he was crying his lungs out, the baby seem perfectly fine. "Shh, hi, Ted, we're here," she whispered, passing her hands upon his belly causing his cries got less intense before taking him in her arms. "That's right, no need to cry, Mum and Dad are here," she assured him, sitting on the armchair.

"Do you want anything?" interrogated Remus. "Pillow? Water, perhaps?"

"No." She shook her head. "Thanks, I'm okay." She started to feed him. Although, she loved how greatly he cared for him, she could not deny that sometimes her husband worried a bit too much about their son. Yes, breastfeeding did leave her thirsty, but they had just had breakfast. Though, she would never stop finding it… adorable.

"In that case, I'll just go to the Diagon Alley already."

"Eager to leave me?" she mocked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eager to come back to you," he answered with a fond smile and she gazed into his eyes for a short moment, cheeks flushing as she looked down to the baby.

"What's got into you today?" asked Dora, finally lifting up her head to him. "So… _supportive_, that speech and now… this. You're acting like a hopeless romantic."

Remus walked over to her, placing his hands on the chair's arms, his face half an inch from hers.

"I know for a fact that having you here has left my heart incredibly lighter," his tone steady and calm, but still holding a vibrant layer of affection. "But maybe I had the speech ready for a different occasion," he grinned.

"What? My birthday?" She recalled it was certainly the closest event she could think of, despite it not being for another month.

He sighed in apparent frustration, but still smiling slightly. Things were indeed a bit out of place, but had he actually hoped she would fail to recall her own birthday just so he could make a surprise?

"I won't take long," promised Remus.

"Don't need to buy everything," she reminded him. "You can leave a few things for me- _us_, next week maybe," she suggested with a small grin.

"I'll see what I can do." He smiled a second before vanishing on thin air.

* * *

The Diagon Alley was still far from its best shape, but so much better than the last time he had put his eyes upon it. A decent variety of shops were working five days after the last battle, but quite a lot had yet to open their doors. Remus was glad to perceive that the great majority of wizards had volunteered to help re-build the Hogwarts school, therefore the street was not crowded, which allowed him to look into the stores peacefully. On his way to the Gringotts, he saw a young boy selling The Daily Prophet; smiling, he made a mental note to come back once he was done and purchase the paper to see what was indeed happening in the Wizarding World, it still felt somewhat strange to remain ignorant to the world's news. After a quick stop at the bank to fill his pocket with gold, he happily realised that the store he was in most need to get in, was open.

Madam Malkin's, however, was somewhat fuller in comparison with the rest of the street; apparently, robes were among the items that were mostly missed during the months in which they could not purchase much. He stepped inside and the witch soon approached him.

"What can I do for you, dear?"

"Do you- I was in need for some clothes for an infant, actually."

"Your wife has had the baby, then?" She beamed.

"Yes, yes, she had," he answered unable to stop the smile from coming to his lips, not that he wanted to.

"Boy or girl?" The witch asked, leading him to an area in the back of the room he had never given too much attention before.

"It's a boy," Remus answered, proudly.

They passed by a valance, which hid several shelves with the biggest amount of baby clothes he had ever seen.

"Yeah? Has a name yet?"

"Ted," he responded, letting his gaze travel through the clothes.

"I'll be right there, Mr. Zeller!" she shouted at the man by the counter waiting to pay for his robes. "Just give me a call if you need anything, all right? New-borns are on the top," she finished, showing him the higher shelves.

"Thank you." He nodded, smiling.

Remus withdrew his wand and pointed to the clothes, he levitated them to a nearby table and began looking into them, putting aside a few of each plain little trousers, bright colourful onesies for he seemed to have got his mother's like for bright colours. He could not help but to be amused by certain silly sentences on some of them, but decided it was best for Dora to choose those, he had to admit she had a better sense of humour than he did, though, he did decide to take home the one that read 'Watch out! Mummy is an Auror!' Remus was very impressed at how many of onesies there were at Madam Malkin's. The crest of the four Hogwarts Houses, which he opted for not taking to not incite the arguement he had already had with his wife; more than he thought possible The Weird Sisters albums and tours, as well as The Hobglobins, which were definitely best to be chosen by her; every wizard career he had ever heard of preceded by the word 'Future'; but one caught his eye more than any other, one that simply read 'First Born' with a bright red number one behind the words. Teddy was his first born, not that he would take the risk of passing on his condition again, but he was his son. All those little clothes reminded him of how tiny Teddy was, so undefended and vulnerable, but still trusting him and Dora to guide and help him. Remus smiled, he was his son. He levitated the ones he had chosen to the counter still wearing that goofy grin and for the first time he did not care in the slightest to what everybody else was thinking of him. He knew he seemed for everyone like a rather silly and proud father, but he could not care for that was exactly what he was, he was the proud father of Teddy Lupin, the most precious baby boy this world have ever had the pleasure to know.

With his pocket somewhat lighter, but with his hands filled with bags, Remus left the shop and proceeded to continue to walk down the street. He was now, mainly looking through the showcases to see if there was something worth the trouble of entering the store, however, nothing called his attention until he reached the Quality Quidditch Supplies, maybe he could surprise her with a little something before he left, after all, Teddy did not have to be the only one he bought things for. It was no more crowded than usual and he stepped in.

"What do you have of the Magpies, please?" He asked to the first available sailor he saw, a black-haired young man that could not seem happier to be working there, in his name tag read Dougal Kiely.

"Everything, chap!" Dougal answered, enthusiastically. "Robes, T-shirts, banners, plush, dummies, balls with a carven crest! You name it!"

Remus frowned, surely he had not understood properly.

"Dummies, you said?"

"Yes!" He nodded fiercely. "You're not gonna believe what these guys've been doing to put their hands on the fan's gold. Just gimme a minute," he asked without waiting for an answer, climbing the stairs in the back of the room. Soon, he was back with his arms filled of black and white items.

"Got some great new players, didn't they? Wouldn't be surprised if they won the League again this year," he commented, spreading everything upon the empty space of the counter. "There you go," he handed Remus one of the dummies with the team's crest. "Sings the anthem," he added, hitting a plush bird with his wand and it began intoning the song. "T-shirts..."

Remus was sure that for a good while Dougal continued to talk about all the merchandise in the counter, but his entire attention was in the dummy in his hand and his wife's smile when she saw it. Teddy was indeed a bit young to have a dummy, but in a few days he would be not and he was sure that his son would see no difference in whatever was drawn on the dummy; this was certainly more of a gift for his wife than for his son.

"How much for this?" asked Remus.

"A galleon, but I can offer you the plush for another couple of galleons if you take both," he bargained.

"Maybe later," suggested Remus, making sure it was the correct one for Teddy's age and putting the dummy in one of his bags before handing the sailor a gold galleon. "Thank you."

"Anytime!" replied the man, throwing the coin in the air.

Remus walked his way to the boy who was selling The Daily Prophet and trade with him five knuts for the paper.

"Thank you very much, sir!" The boy opened a wide grin.

"Thank you, young man." Taken aback for an instant, he smiled and nodded at the boy before glancing at the front page. The headline read 'HOGWARTS' RECONSTRUCTION' and under it a photo that made his heart skipped a beat: the castle was destroyed to the point of having several walls missing, towers lifted to less than half of their original heights, windows without a single inch of glass. He had to admit, the thought of seeing the majestic construction in this state had never crossed his mind. Then it changed to a picture of an Order colleague walking through the Ministry's Atrium whilst being interviewed, along with it, the title changed to now read 'MINISTER SHACKLEBOLT'S NEWEST PRONUNCIATION', he nodded his approval at Kingsley's new entitlement; of all the Order members who worked at the Ministry, Kingsley was definitely the one who suited best the role of Minister of Magic, a leader when the organisation had lost all its commandants. Under it, amongst the minor news, he saw a headline that caused him to bit his lip: 'List of the deceased reach 70. All the names on page 8'.

He took a moment to breathe and resisted the impulse of opening it on the eighth page, he had no desire to discover who else had died from the ones he held dear, but he knew he had to, though, somehow he felt it was not the sort of thing to be done alone, as much as he wanted to protect her from it, he knew he should be together with his wife whenever they decided to take a look at those names. Anyhow, he knew they still had a few happy moments before the arduous task, sparing a look at the bags in his hands, he disapparated home with a grin upon his face.

* * *

Tonks stared for an instant at the spot her husband had just disappeared from, a small sigh escaping her lips as she turned to the baby in her arms.

"Did you see that, Teddy? Your Daddy left and didn't even give me a kiss- Although, I'm not sure if you would've enjoyed seeing it…" She frowned slightly. "Would you?"

The boy let go of her breast, shaking his head.

"What? You don't want anymore? You nearly brought down our home to just have this?" She let out her breath in a puff. Sometimes, she really wished she could read whatever was going on in his mind just so she could help him, not only he was everything to her, but she was everything to him, she was his sustenance, his comfort and his safety, she could not help but to wonder if he would have even survived if god-forbid, she had died.

Tonks put him back on the cot where his gaze focused on the little plush phoenix that hanged from the arch; she smiled, kissing his forehead.

"Dora?" called Olivia's voice.

"I was just going downstairs, Remus-"

"Nah, don't worry," she cut her off. "We've got some errands to run."

"Yeah? What're you going to do?"

"Promised Mum and Dad I'd stop by today."

"Oh, feel free to use our fireplace if you want."

"'Kay. Thanks!"

"All right. Tell them I said wotcher." Tonks winked.

"I will! See ya later!"

"See you! Bye, Alex!"

"Goodbye, Tonks!" he replied with a smile.

As they left, Dora turned her face to her son, who was kicking the air with a now white hair.

"You love this, don't you, Ted?" she said with a playful tone. "Yes, Mummy knows how much you like this. Oh, _I know_ how much you _love_ to kick, believe me!"

However, unlike she had thought, Teddy was not kicking because he was happy and somewhat fidgety, he let out a moan allowing her to be aware of that fact.

"Shh! Hey, Teddy! I'm here." Tonks bit her lip anxious. "What's got into you today?" She ran her hand upon his belly and he became quieter. "What does white hair mean, huh? Tell me. Should I owl your gran? Should I?" But the boy had eased and focused his eyes upon the orange phoenix once again; she took her hand from him still somewhat nervous. She was his mother, wasn't she? She was supposed to help him and supply his needs, she could not owl her mother every single time her son cried out for something she did not know what was. She shook her head, pointing her wand to the stereo, turning it on the Wizarding Wireless Network; she could not allow herself to panic every time something was not perfect with him.

"-and as I've been saying, to restructure the Ministry and the Hogwarts school are the most important things right now. We need to get those organised before we can start thinking about anything else," said the deep voice of her old Auror colleague, Kingsley.

"So, nothing new on the Minister's pronunciation-"

Tonks's eyes grew wide. _Minister?_ But before she could dwell on the fact that Kingsley Shacklebolt was apparently the new Minister of Magic, Teddy re-started to moan. She took him in her arms and started pacing; soon, he had quietened again.

"Are you hot? Bet your awesome parents covered you with too many layers of clothes, didn't they?" She placed him on the changing table and began to struggle to get his clothes out, stopping only when he had no more than his nappy on. However, the minute she got her hands out of him, he would begin to cry. "You just want me, is it? Or do you want Daddy but I'm the next best thing? Do I need to change you?" she added, checking his nappy. "Nope, I don't." With him in her arms, she waved her wand to the stereo again and The Weird Sisters' latest album began to play.

Tonks could not help but to smile when the familiar sound of the loud guitars reached her ears and hearing the thumps of her heartbeat, Teddy calmed down. "Oh, you like them, don't you, Ted? Of course! How could you not?" She walked with him around the house, arranging the few things out of their place, amongst it, the messed breakfast table, setting a spell upon the dishes to wash themselves. A whole hour must have passed with her cuddling him to wherever she went, but despite everything that Molly had told her, she was beginning to feel concerned towards the fact she would possibly be spoiling him. Thus, she got a bed sheet and the pink stuffed wolf Remus had bought him and took him to the drawing-room. After extending the sheet on the floor, she carefully placed him on it, lying prone alongside him with the wolf in her hand.

"Do you like the wolfie, Teddy? Do you, Teddy?" She smiled as his eyes travelled from her to the toy, but quickly vanished as his brows knitted at the lack of her hands on him and she let out a slightly annoyed puff. "I'm here, Ted, Mummy's right here. What about some tummy time, huh? Tummy times are nice, yes, they are!"

She swirled him so now, he was lying on his belly and immediately he lifted up his head. Tonks beamed at the sight that he had finally learnt to use the muscles in his neck or rather... He was not trying, that much she already knew, she knew when her son was trying something new, like the first time she had breastfed him, the first time they swaddled him, he would slowly try until he got used to the sensation, but this... The instant she placed him on his belly, he knew what to do, as though he had already done it before and more than once. She turned to lie on her back, lightly placing a hand upon his back to let him know that she was beside him. Four days unconscious were indeed too much time, did she really expect for him to not learn something new? Truth was, she did. A part of her did not think he could go on without her, but now, the realisation that, in fact, he did not need her to learn everything was weighing upon her. Tonks fought to not let fall the tear pouring on her eye. She would not cry, it was a happy moment, wasn't it? The very first time her son had consciously used the strength in his tiny body... and she had missed. Truth was, she would never know how it felt to see him discover himself for the first time.

Had the stereo not be turned on, the loud crack of apparition would have echoed through the house.

"Dora, I'm home!" came her husband's hoarse voice as he appeared in the room, seeing them not far from him, he added "Oh, you two are there. Hullo!"

"Wotcher..."

"You won't believe the things I bought," grinned Remus, his enthusiasm making him oblivious to the fact that she was in a complete different state of mind as his. "You'll love this," he searched for the dummy in the bags. "Look!" He threw the item at her, but instead of hearing her hand make contact with it, he heard the plastic hitting the floor thrice and not a single movement from her towards it. "...Dora?"

Remus approached them and crouched near her, running his fingers through her hair before calling again "Dora?"

Knowing she could no longer deny him an answer, she said "He's lifting up his head," her voice somewhat unsteady as she angrily wiped the stubborn tear that stupidly decided to ran down her temple.

Remus sharpened a breath before lying on his stomach, his head nearly touching hers.

"Yes, he is." His right hand lightly touching her right shoulder. "Two days ago, it was. I was with him, had just shifted with your mother and came home to play with him a bit," he informed her, caressing her arm. "Wonderful sight, I must tell and I got to see it. Do you know why?" For the first time, she moved a muscle towards him, eyes questioningly gazing into his. "Because of you, because you saved my life," he took a moment to close his eyes and swallow, voice still steady despite the tightness in his throat. "Like you once told me: it doesn't matter that you missed a few things at the beginning, what matters is that you'll be here for him when he needs you, when he calls for you and _you_ will be here, won't you?"

Tonks nodded fiercely. Of course she would be there for him whenever he needed her, but by the course things were following, she did not think he would need her for much longer. However, she was not counting on the unerring instinct her husband had for indirect reassurance.

"He might not need you for every little thing now," he glanced at her just to see her eyes back on the baby beside them whilst Teddy's were focused on her, "but I'm sure he'd rather do everything with you by his side. You can see that look in his eyes, can't you? That's adoration. It may take a good while until he learns to speak, until he understands the meaning behind the talking, but I do not need words to be certain that he loves you."

Tonks bit her bottom lip, her chin trembling as she realised the truth and the importance behind Remus's say. Their gaze travelling to meet each other's eyes and lips moving to crash upon their lovers in an upside down kissing, nose hitting chin as warm sensations began to run through their very souls and they allowed themselves to just... _feel_.

"Thank you," both said, when they finally broke apart, with different meanings, but the same understanding, not another word was needed. Love would heal them, like the tears of a phoenix.

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**A/N2:** So, huge chapter is huge! Almost 10.700 words! Never wrote anything so big. Either way, this fic will be updated real slowly because Bubblegum Pink Moon is still my main project, but it will be finished, don't worry! Though, I wanted to get this chapter published soon because I think it summarises very well what you'll see here, things that they lost because of the war, things they only got to know because of the war and happiness from surviving it! Thank you so much for reading up to here! Would you please be a darling and leave your thoughts in the box bellow? ;) Thanks!


	3. Farewell

**A/N:** As promised yesterday, the third chapter for you all! ^_^ Thank you for all your amazing reviews, they really mean a lot. Would you leave your thoughts on this one for me again, please? Thanks! I really hope you like this one and Merry Christmas or whatever it is that you and your family celebrate today! :)

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**CHAPTER 3: Farewell**

A few minutes later that day, Remus and Dora were sitting by the table, which was replete with The Daily Prophet's pages, reading through the paper and having a hot cup tea; he had insisted she ought to have one to calm herself, little did he know that his presence could calm her more than any amount of tea ever could. Teddy had been peacefully sleeping on his carrier near them, it seemed as though her tranquillity had had an effect upon him as well and her steady heartbeat led to a calm morning nap. Her eyes came across the eighth page, the one they both, despite not saying a word about it to each other, had been wilfully avoiding as if they ignored it enough a pixie would take it away and make their problem disappear. However, she realised she could not postpone it any longer, it was merely getting more painful by the second.

"Rem," called Tonks, her hand gradually going from his forearm towards his hand and intertwining their fingers.

"Hm?" he replied tilting his head towards her, but his eyes remained focused on the content of Kingsley's new pronouncement.

She stared at the title for a while, refusing to answer him with words. As she did not say anything, he looked at her and followed her gaze. His fingers tightened the grip around hers immediately and he let the page he had been reading fall on the table, reaching over to the one she had been holding.

"Do you want to see it now?" he asked eyeing her, breaking their mute agreement of not saying anything about that cursed page. Receiving not any look back, for her eyes were still locked upon the page, he awaited. A second later, she nodded and he began to turn the page. "All right."

They sharpened their breaths before checking the first name on the list.

_Abercrombie, Jadon._

It did not ring a bell to either of them; a temporary relief took over as if they thought they could go through the entire list without seeing any dear name. After it there was Brown, Lavender and the girl's name was closely followed by the Carrow siblings, somewhat angering the two of them. How could they mix Death Eaters with members of the Order and Hogwarts' students? Putting them all in the same bag as if they were all the same thing? Their eyes continued to scan the names, searching for ones they knew, but hoping beyond hope to see none.

Gradually, a name would jump out of the list, being identified as a colleague or a recognisable surname from their Hogwarts years or merely from seeing it somewhere, were they Quidditch games, an article in the Prophet or at some shop in Diagon Alley even. Seeing Knight, Alan had surely hurt, but finding about the Lestrange's deaths made Dora laugh out loud in sheer contentment for a whole minute. Sure, she had wished to be the one to bring her aunt down, but since she could not, having Bellatrix dead was more than good enough. Snape's death, on the other hand, came almost as a shock, but why should he not be dead? He was a Death Eater after all.

However, none hurt more than when they finally caught a glance at Tonks, Theodore. Dora had to look away. Would it ever stop hurting? Every single time she spared a thought at her father's death, her heart would sink, feel like crying from the inside, she had never pictured never seeing him again, never hearing him laugh so unworriedly like he used to do, never hearing him call her 'Dad's little girl' even though she had retorted every single time since she turned fifteen, telling him she was most definitely not a little girl anymore. Remus put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as he sought for some way to comfort her either than holding her to his chest, but finding none. Seeing Weasley, Friederich at the end was almost a relief; as though she could escape her painful memories and replace them by grief for the boy they all were so fond of, hurting almost as much as her father's, even though they were still aware of the twin's death.

Downwards the list of the casualties of the II War, Remus caught a glimpse of a second list, entitled as 'Creatures Deaths'; his eyes lingered upon it long enough for his wife to also be lured to it, seeing how her husband was still focused on the paper. Names of goblins, house-elves and giants followed the headline, none of them really getting their attention for more than the second they took to read it, that was until... When they read Greyback's, a light happy squeeze was felt on their hands, the monster was truly gone, would never hurt nor threat any of them with perilous menaces. It could be said that that nightmare was officially behind them. She pulled him, kissing his lips and thinking that he had not responded for he was simply shocked towards her sudden action. However, Remus's features assumed an expression that revealed to Tonks more than simple sadness, but a deep down sorrow, clearly profoundly wounded; it did not take long for her to connect it with what was on her husband's mind.

"You wouldn't have been there," she assured him. "The Order wouldn't have let them ― _I_ wouldn't have let them."

"That's where I should have been."

"It's not!" argued Dora. "You are a _man, a man, Remus!_ And you're the one _I_ love! I want you, _you_ and no one else!"

"I know," his voice calm and steady, so dissonant of hers, obviously trying to sooth his wife; his thumb lovingly caressing her cheek. "I jus ― Sometimes, I just wish... I just wish you didn't."

Tonks rolled her eyes, looking away from him and letting out an extremely annoyed puff.

"Don't get me wrong," he pleaded, turning his face to hers. His tone begging for her to look at him and how could she deny him that? "I'm more than glad that you do, I'm delighted to be the one you want."

"Good," she tried to resist the smile that tugged the corner of her lips and she grabbed his face with both her hands. "'Cause you're stuck with me," and she pressed her lips upon his.

Remus smiled fondly at her and she seemed satisfied with the small gesture, for she let him go.

"If you're feeling well enough to go, can we leave at four?" he asked her.

"Whaaat?" the way she prolonged the word, showing just how confused she was.

"The funeral," he pointed to a minor entitlement beside both lists, saying the Hogwarts School would hold a memorial that afternoon to honour their dead. "Didn't you read?"

"I ―" Her eyes quickly scanned the paragraph, getting the essential of it. "Yeah, 'course I did! Four sounds nice," she added, hoping he would not notice that she had not read a single word more than she needed to.

"Right..." the beginning of a smirk playing on the corner of his lips.

Tonks hit him on his ribcage, not strong enough to hurt, just so he knew she had caught his irony, but she had forgotten about his battle wound, having yet to fully heal, just where her arm had made contact. And the laugh he had begun to let out, was rapidly transformed into a grunt of pain as he leant his head on the, filled with the newspaper's pages, table.

"Merlin's beard!" she got up, tossing her chair on the floor and clumsily trying to take his hand away. "I'm sorry, I didn't ― Lemme see," she had pushed his chair to the side and knelt between his legs, trying to take his robes out of her way.

"Dora... it's okay," he tried to comfort her between deep breaths, but she did not seem able to listen to him.

Having finally been able to get to his bare skin, she saw his bandage being coloured by crimson, which certainly was not there that morning when they woke up.

"It's certainly not," she pressed her hand upon it; as gentle as she could be since she had to be firm to stop the bleeding. "Re-opened," she confessed, looking up to him, her eyes asking for forgiveness.

Remus bit his lip, hating himself for not being strong enough to endure it, the closeness of the full moon not helping his situation in the slightest.

"I'll get a potion," she told him, starting to get up, but he placed his hand lightly upon hers.

"Stay?"

She had sharpened a breath to tell him she would be back in less than a minute when she saw his eyes, pleading for her to just stay by his side and she exhaled with a loving smile.

"Sure."

Tonks knelt before him once again, leaning her head on his chest to hear the echoing thumps of his heart and he placed his chin on top of her head.

"D'you think Mum would have us for lunch?" she asked after a minute of silence and he felt the words vibrating through his chest.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm not making my wounded husband cook for me and certainly I don't feel like poisoning him, so..."

Remus chuckled along with her.

"I don't see why not."

"Good," she motioned to get up, kissing a scar on the centre of his chest. "I'll owl her."

He nodded, feeling much better to let her go now and sparing a look at his bandage before replacing her hand with his own. It definitely did not look bad, but it did not look good either and as they had to go to St. Mungo's for another round of pain potions later that day, Remus was sure a healer could fix it.

* * *

"_Yes, you should!_" Andromeda shouted at her daughter the second she had exposed her concerns towards should not having to contact her mother every single time Teddy cried for something she did not know what was, just like it had happened that morning. "Darling, what was the last thing I told you before I left at the Hospital?"

Tonks thought for an instant, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing herself upon the sofa before answering.

"To let you know if I needed anything," she admitted, sounding too much like a child being caught whilst doing something wrong.

Andromeda raised her brows, glancing at her daughter, who seemed to be trying her best to ignore her mother's glaze as though she had proceeded exactly like she was supposed to. Remus smiled at that sight; he knew better than to get himself between two stubborn Blacks so, he took Teddy in the carrier and was about to get the baby's bag when he heard his wife finally take the plunge.

"Fine! I'll owl you next time," Tonks frowned, still not happy on admitting it, but if her son's safety was on the board, she could not take the risk.

"You'll do well to do so," Andromeda lectured. "Don't be like that, honey," she sat beside her daughter. "I just want to help you, because I know how it feels, when there's a crying baby before you and there's nothing you can do and you're feeling just so powerless," she exhaled heavily. "And I really had absolutely no one to turn to, but you are not alone," she reached for her daughter's hand, squeezing it. "Believe it or not, you learn a few tricks after nearly twenty-five years," she pulled Tonks to a hug, which, after rolling her eyes, she responded holding her mother tightly.

"I jus ―" she smiled, letting her go. "I just wanted to be a better mother for him, you know."

"Calling for help makes you a better mother, all right?" Andromeda cupped her daughter's cheek. "Shows that you put him in first place."

Dora nodded, feeling her chest extremely lighter.

"Now, let me see him. How's my dear grandson?" she asked with a playful tone, turning her head around the room, searching for Teddy.

"I was about to go change him," Remus lifted the carrier up for Andromeda to see.

"Oh, no, I'll do it," she grinned, walking over to where he was.

Remus wondered how someone could be so eager to change a baby's napkin, but he handed her both his son and the baby's bag without questioning.

"Mum," Dora called. "I just fed him and we didn't manage to burp him, so ―"

"Oh, don't you worry, Nymphadora―"

"_Mu-um!_"

"― I'll get that done too."

Tonks exhaled heavily at her mother's mention of the first name she hated so much, but after the amount of help her mother had just offered her, she did not feel as though she could do any more than a slight rebuke.

An hour later, they all had their stomachs filled with Andromeda's delicious food. Tonks wondered if her mother actually _could_ make something as bad as the usual meals she would cook and she supposed not, not even if she tried. With a painful feature, she had been breastfeeding her son one more time, since his last feed, she had felt her breasts tender and heavier, but her mother had supposed her breasts engorged due to her four days without feeding Teddy whilst she was unconscious at St. Mungo's. Andromeda re-entered the drawing-room coming from the kitchen and by the sounds that came from said room, she had just set a spell on the dishes to wash themselves.

"Mum, is it normal for him to be eating this much?" Another concern she had not really thought of asking her mother, but since she had promised her she would ask for her help in every little thing, she had voiced it. "I mean, I don't know, maybe my head's a bit shaken since I woke up last night, but it seems like he's eating much more than I remember."

"Completely normal," guaranteed Andromeda. "They usually regain the weight around the third week, so you'll really have to wake up more during the night. Every two hours or an hour and a half even."

Remus walked over to the couch and got his wife's feet, taking off her shoes and started massaging her feet before he turned to his mother-in-law.

"Andromeda, would I be bothering you if I asked for another embarrassing tale about my wife?" he requested, remembering his favourite pastime during the several months they were trapped in that house.

Tonks frowned, kicking his thigh lightly for having Teddy in her arms stopped her from doing something else.

"Careful, love, you wouldn't want to injury you husband any more, would you? Besides, I just miss them," he grinned quite innocently at her, but she merely put her tongue out for him.

"Not at all!" Andromeda shook her head taking no notice of her daughter's reaction.

After a couple of hours of Dora's embarrassing stories as a kid and they all discussing which of them, they could picture Teddy ever doing in the future, they realised that if they did not leave for the Hospital at precisely that moment, they would not be able to get checked by the healer before heading to Hogwarts. Before entering the fireplace, they said their good-byes to Andromeda with promises of seeing her again at the school.

In opposite of what they had thought, St. Mungo's could not be more different from the night before. Remus was right to suspect that it was due to the fact that the tribute to the casualties of the War taking place in an hour. At the third floor, they found a healer that, probably due to her declining age, seemed free enough of her duties to spare a bit of attention to them.

"What can I do for you, dearies?" the old lady asked. "Everything all right with this little… It's a boy, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is fine," Remus smiled.

"Actually, love, wouldn't hurt to ask her to take a look at him, right?" questioned Tonks, who was extremely concerned about Teddy and had even casted a Bubble Charm upon him out of worrying of taking her son to such a contaminated place.

"Sure," he nodded and then turned to the healer. "If you wouldn't mind."

"Oh, of course not!"

She walked over to them and Tonks passed her the carrier. The healer took him to the nearest bed, lying him on it and began running her wand upon the boy, murmuring what seemed to be exceptionally complicated enchantments. Both parents stood side by side, leaning their backs on another bed and attentively watching the work of the elder woman, who had materialised a set of potions and was now rubbing a white one over his foot. Remus could tell Dora was anxious, she had been chewing her lip the whole time and when she decided to no longer punish her lip, she had chosen her cuticles to be her new target, without being able to take it any longer, he took her finger out of her mouth and smiled at her.

"He'll be all right."

"I know," she swallowed hard.

After another long moment of silence, Remus was sure she would not say another word, but she sharpened a deep breath as though she was digging up the courage to voice something, and leant towards his ear and he bent down to show her, he had her full attention.

"Should we ask for a ― you know, some sort of lycanthropy test?" she murmured to him.

Upon his eyes, she could see her anxiety reflected. Sure when he was born, they had had every sign that Teddy had not inherited his father's curse and she had not once been concerned about it since then, but none of the tests would let them be one hundred per cent sure about it and they had yet to face the ultimate test, Teddy's first full moon.

Remus breathed deeply. It was all his fault, he had been the irresponsible one, no matter how many times she tried to tell him otherwise, she was not used upon having to deal with a werewolf daily then, how could he expect from her to be as careful towards it as he was?

"Just to be sure," she added apologetically, letting him know that she was not blaming him in the slightest for it.

He nodded. She might not blame him for it, but he did.

"Excuse me," Tonks stepped forward.

"Yes?"

"Healer…" she eyed the woman's name tag. "Frobisher. Would you happen to have some sort of lycanthropy test?"

"I ― Yes. Was he bitten, the poor thing?" the healer started to search for scars upon Teddy's skin.

"Oh, no," she tried to sound nonchalant, but was not completely successful. "We're just worried about parent transmission, actually."

"Oh…" the healer looked from her to Remus and back to her in mere two seconds, as if trying to find out which one of them was a werewolf, or if both of them were. "Oh! Yes, of course. If you will follow me."

Tonks was grateful that, unlike Dorothy, the healer who took care of most of her pregnancy, she had the decency of not asking which of them was a lycanthrope. She held her hand for Remus to take, her husband did seem somewhat reluctant to follow the healer, but ended up taking her hand and together they walked after their son towards the fourth floor.

The landing was considerably more organised since Remus had been there three days before. Healer Frobisher led them to an empty room, which Remus was quite surprised to see that those actually existed now, and excused herself, coming back after a minute with another healer, this time a man, who went to talk directly with them.

"Very well, Mr. and Mrs. ―" he looked at them straightening his eyes.

"Lupin," Dora answered for it seemed to her as though Remus had completely lost his voice; she tightened her grip on her husband's hand.

"Lupin," he repeated. "We'll need to collect a few samples from your son. Nothing much," he added quickly, seeing her eyes widen in worry. "A few drops of blood, some cells from his skin and a bit of his saliva. Are you familiar with the procedure to collect all of those?"

She nodded. Auror missions being responsible for nearly all her organs having a sample collected. It was still not enough to leave her completely unconcerned, however. No matter how many times a spell had been practised, one could never be completely sure of it not going wrong.

"Skin?" questioned Remus, surprising her by getting out of his stupor.

"Um, yes," the healer assented. "It is a rather simple procedure. We'll delimitate a small area and summon the kind of cells we need to run the test; supposed to be a painless procedure, but patients may experience some local tenderness."

"Is that really all that can happen? Some local tenderness?"

Tonks could feel in his tone how worried Remus was that Teddy became hurt because of something he was supposedly responsible for, even though she knew it was not how things really were. Her gaze fell upon the boy, still closely watched by Healer Frobisher, and she knew nothing bad would happen to him, he was a healthy little boy and would not be suffer from any harm his father had absolutely no intention of transmitting to him.

"We usually do hundreds of them during a day, it's routine here at the Hospital and I won't even get started about these last few days, but you know how these things are, there's always the bigger risk."

"Let's do this," she asked in a pleading tone, tugging his robes, her voice far less reassuring than what she had wanted it to sound.

The healer materialised a roll of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink, handing them the first item.

"Please, sign it if you wish to go on."

Tonks got the parchment, holding it open so they could read, getting scared every time they read a line. Described there, were countless possible consequences, from the simple tenderness to losing the limb and the test would only offer them an accuracy of ninety-eight per cent, but she would not let what could possibly happen unsettle her and got the quill to sign it, showing to her husband that she was not afraid and neither should he be.

Remus sharpened a breath as her eyes met his. He could see nothing but determination and trust on them as she offered him the quill. He had always loved how optimist she could be, something it was crystal clear that he needed more in his life. Honestly, what would he do without her? He got the quill, put it in the ink bottle and signed his name beside hers.

"Very well, I'll get started on it right away," the healer collected the parchment and began to walk towards Teddy.

"Can we watch?" Tonks asked.

"We'd rather not, ma'am. I'm sorry."

Tonks nodded, facing her feet.

"Don't worry, dear, everything will be all right," Healer Frobisher tapped her shoulder as Teddy was taken out of the room. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"We're here for another round of pain potions, actually," she explained. "And we needed to get a few wounds checked."

Every minute away from Teddy seemed like an eternity for both of them. Although they were supposedly busy with bandages, potions and pomades, they could not help but to wonder if anything was going wrong with their son. How long did it usually last? What if it should have ended by now? What if Teddy was bleeding and there was nothing either of them could do? What if the healers were trying to save his life and they remained oblivious to it? Sure, Healer Frobisher did not look worried, but did she really have any reason to? To help with her engorged breasts, she advised Dora to apply a cold compress ten to fifteen minutes before breastfeeding and a hot one right before it, as well as massaging her breasts as the baby suckled.

"No sexual intercourses until he's six-weeks-old, you two," she said tapping the last bandage on Tonks's arm, pointing at both of them with her index finger and a grin on her lips, probably her idea of a joke to cheer them up.

"Six weeks?" Tonks frowned. "We were told four, even three if I was feeling well."

"That was before you went to fight when you should've been home resting," the healer's tone steady, but slightly accusatory, "wasn't it?"

"Oh," Dora blushed. "Right..."

"Don't worry," Remus pulled her to him. "I'll make sure she behaves."

The healer shot him a glare, as though analysing if she could trust him with it or not, but apparently she thought so, for she left them alone. It all seemed to amplify when she walked away, leaving them to wait for their boy to be discharged.

"He'll be all right, you'll see," she squeezed his hand. "We're worrying for nothing," she smiled, but he barely nodded, not trusting himself to say anything without sounding as if he did not believe himself.

Remus and Tonks went to the first floor, waiting for Teddy amidst so many other anguished relatives. Finally, in each other's arms, they met the end of their torture, the young healer that had taken care of her the night before, Jessica Campbell, entered the room, with Teddy in her arms. They stood to their feet hurrying to her the moment they recognised the cloths Teddy had been wrapped on.

"Oh, hm, afternoon, Mr. Lupin," Jessica wished, getting a smile from Remus in return as she carefully putting his son in his. "He's perfectly fine, everything went as expected," she smiled seeing their relieved faces. "The results shall be owled to you in a couple of days if that much."

They Floo themselves to the School, late, as they knew they would be, they were glad to perceive that Kingsley had just got started on his speech. Tears stained nearly every face they were able to see, their eyes soon caught a glimpse at the Weasleys, a bright orange spot amidst the sea of wizards, such as themselves, donning black robes. It seemed to have so much more gingers than the ones they knew, much like Bill and Fleur's wedding, but Remus indicated with his head, somewhere behind the crowd, an isolated group of chairs where he knew they would not be forcing their presence to the grieving family for a while.

Minister Shacklebolt talked for a long while, discoursing about how, thanks to the ones who, amongst many others, had given their lives to the cause, they were finally going to able to leave in peace, children would be able to grow in a world without their parents worrying sick on their whereabouts. How they would never forget the ones who were gone for they had surely been the reason to many witches and wizards were there at that day. How the world would be a safer place because of them and he, honestly, can think of no better way to leave this life, than protecting the ones you love, than fighting for what you believe and that should be the message they would all carry on regarding their dead.

Kingsley was going to call a relative to talk about each of the ones who had died when Remus showed Teddy to Dora for he had began shaking his head from one side to the other, letting them know he was hungry; she put the cold compress on her breast and ten minutes later the hot one. By the time, she started breastfeeding him, Teddy was moaning loudly, almost crying and her mother made her way to them.

"Do you want to say something about your father?" asked Andromeda, folding a piece of parchment in her hands.

Tonks was caught off guards for a second, watching her mother as she wondered about her question. Of course she wanted to tell everyone how great her father was, but she could not deprive her mother the opportunity of talking about her husband.

"I ― Yeah, but no, Mum," she shook her head. "You can go. I'm sure you'll say something wonderful about him and... He knew how I felt so," she nodded, "go ahead."

Unaware, her mind started to compose the speech she would never give. She would certainly begin by saying he was a wonderful father, overprotective as she knew they all were. After his fight with Remus, she could not say he was a perfect man, but then who was, right? _Teddy_, she answered her own question, looking down to her baby and not even bothering to feel sorry for what she would do with whoever thought differently, _You're perfect_. Either way, she would talk about the amount of things he had thought her, their experiences that did not end the way they were expected to, when he taught her how to fly a broom. All in all, she had loved him and she could not have asked for someone else to raise her.

Emotional speeches were being given as they waited, identifying the names they had read on the Prophet on that morning. Elisa Jones's had been the one to draw more tears from the audience, mentioning her now orphan grandchild, but Dora only tear up when, with her Brazilian accent, she heard Olivia's mother talk about her youngest son, Alan, killed a couple of months ago. As time passed, they recognised more and more familiar faces among the crowd, members of the Order, Ministry's workers, Hogwarts professors. When Andromeda finally left them to discourse, Tonks could see her mother's hand shaking almost imperceptibly.

"Theodore Tonks," began Andromeda, with a magically increased voice. "This man was my husband. A man, I can tell all of you unafraid of being wrong that he was the best man I knew. He was a great husband, a wonderful father, a bit too much protective as I'm sure my daughter would say."

The crowd laughed lightly with her, Dora felt, more than she saw, many faces turning to her; after all, being known more by her old surname made the connection between them all too easy to be made.

"He di ―" her voice failed her and, putting her hand above her mouth, she swallowed the lump on her throat; her voice choked when she spoke again. "He died protecting us: me, our daughter, our grandson. He was never ashamed of his condition as a muggleborn and always stood by it, teaching us all that was not worth to be loved by what you are not. He supported me against my whole family and together we were as happy as two people who love each other can be. So, all I really want to say is... even though I didn't want him to go, I know he died the way he wanted to, guaranteeing a better life for the ones he loved and we must make the best out of it. Thank you. _Quietus_!" she walked over to his tombstone, placing a kiss on her fingers and them upon the marble, conjuring a beautiful flower arrangement of colourful hydrangeas to put on it.

"Mum..." Tonks murmured as she closed the few steps that separated them, embracing her mother tightly and for the first time, knowing her mother needed her daughter more than she needed her mother. "It was beautiful," she whispered in her ear, "I'm sure Dad's thinking of you, wherever he is."

"Thank you, darling," sobbed Andromeda; tears staining both women's cheeks.

They stood together, half listening to the discourses, half thinking about how wonderful it was to still have the opportunity of watching the sun rise once again, remembering how close they had all come to dying in numerous opportunities, how if they were less than half an inch closer, their names would also be amongst the dead ones.

At long last, came Fred Weasley, the last name to compose the list of the casualties of the II Wizarding War, having his twin to talk on behalf of his family. As he walked to the stage, they perceived George's eyes already visibly red and swollen.

"Hey, everyone. So, my brother, he... He and I, we lived by one rule that we actually never really stated, we kinda just did and that rule was to have fun. Wherever we went, we just wanted to be able to have a good time. And I'm ―" George had to stop himself, eyes closed fiercely, but when he finally opened them, strong determination crossed them and he continued to talk, despite the pain it was so obvious he was feeling. "Anyway, he died doing the right thing, like everyone else here, but he died like we lived, laughing and having fun. And he wouldn't have wanted any of us to sit here mourning for him, he would have wanted us to enjoy this world of peace," he actually sounded bitter and angry to them at the end, which did not seem to fit, but could also have been something else.

As George got down and was soon tightly embraced by his mother, Tonks could not help but to wonder if he would be able to do what he knew his brother would have wanted him to do, if he would have the strength to get up every morning and look in the mirror to see himself and not his dead twin. In time, possibly, but she knew that now, he would still need to grief for a good while before it stopped hurting so much.

Kingsley stepped forward and thanked the members of the Order of the Phoenix and all the ones who had fought against Voldemort and the Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts. He announced then, the beginning of the feast, pointing to the castle, where they knew to have by now, tables filled with Hogwarts' wonderful food. However, neither Remus nor Tonks felt like eating. In fact, they suspected that very few did want to eat, but they needed to occupy their minds with something else other than the grief that was consuming them.

They walked over to the Weasleys, instead, who also seemed to think that food was not their priority at that moment. Whilst Andromeda offered Molly a kind hug, Remus, unsure of what to say, tried to comfort Arthur and Tonks tapped the shoulder of the one Weasley she had missed that most, the one she had not seen in months; when Charlie turned around, before they wrapped each other in a tight embrace, she could see his eyes covered in tears, although it seemed that he was doing his best not to let them fall.

"I'm so sorry, Char," she choked, surprised to fell tears suddenly falling from her eyes once again.

"Don't be silly," he denied. "It's not your fault. How're you holding up?"

"Fine..." she answered, letting him go.

"Yeah?"

She nodded, wiping her tears.

"Good."

Slowly, they blended between the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione, consoling each other with embraces to the best they could. In return, they all expressed their relief to see they were safe and sound after thinking for so long that they had left the world of the living. Remus was able to see inside the eyes Harry inherited from his mother not only just how much he had suffered with the whole War and the ones who died because of it, but how strongly he was bearing the misery. He knew easy could never be used to describe what Harry had done, nor what he would have to deal with for the rest of his life, but if someone was able to endure such burden, it was James's son, especially if he was not alone anymore, he had all his friends and supporters behind him, they would always stand up for him.

The group gradually began to walk towards the castle and Remus and Dora still did not want to eat, but followed them. Pleasantly surprised, Tonks saw Ron and Hermione holding each other's hands. _Finally_, she thought. The Hogwarts School, despite being still shattered due the battle, felt warm and cosy as always. The Great Hall was not organised as it usually was; instead of the usual five big tables, there was a huge one and several minor ones all over it. The boys put a few tables in a row, so their big group could all sit together. Ginny approached Dora, when she had Teddy in her arms, followed closely by Hermione.

"How's he?" asked Ginny, the single path of a dried tear staining her cheek.

"Great, he's great," she smiled, holding him a bit lower so they could see him better.

"Aww, he's adorable!" Hermione smiled.

"I'll get a drink, do you want something?" Remus questioned his wife.

"Just pumpkin juice," she answered with a grin before he left.

Ginny seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking "May I hold him?"

Tonks straightened her eyes in mock threat.

"How many new-borns have you hold?"

"I... Well... You see, Billius, my uncle, he had a son, about ten years ago and I... held... him... Or rather just his hand 'cause I was very young," Admitting her joke, Ginny looked around, resisting a smile.

But Tonks merely laughed at her.

"Just kidding," she stood up. "Sit there," she commanded, indicating her chair with her head.

Ginny sat promptly and Dora laid him carefully in her arms.

"There, support his head and keep it a bit higher ― Yeah, like that."

"Oh, Merlin!"

For the first time in the whole day, Tonks saw Ginny smiling.

"My godson," Ginny informed her friend proudly.

"Oh, really? You and Harry?" Hermione looked from her to Dora, who nodded. "That's great!" She reached for his little hand, caressing it with her thumb. "He's so tiny."

"That's because he wasn't inside of you!" she joked, getting laughs from them.

"Was it really hard?" Hermione's voice more serious now.

"Well," Tonks began, sitting on Remus's chair, "the last weeks were awful. I couldn't find a good position to sleep, swollen feet, swollen breasts, but it was... _bearable_. His birth, though... It hurt _a lot_!" she looked both girls in the eye. "And everyone fussing around me all the time wasn't the best, but they did help and well, I had to do it one way or another, so..."

After having got a goblet of wine for himself, Remus was pouring some pumpkin juice for his wife by the main table when he felt someone approaching him, looking sideways he saw Harry smiling if somewhat awkwardly at him.

"Hello, Harry," he offered the boy a curt nod.

"Hi," Harry closed the few steps that separated them and pretended to be busy on choosing something.

Remus had the decency to not push him to say something he was not prepared to and simply commented "Beautiful ceremony, wasn't it?"

"Yeah ― Listen, Lupin, I ―" Harry called, appearing to finally have gathered the courage to speak. "During the Battle, I... There was this moment when Voldemort made the Death Eaters retreat and he didn't attack us for about an hour. And I saw you and Tonks with... you know..."

Remus nodded, indicating for him to continue, knowing full well that he meant the time in which he and his wife were thought to be dead.

"So, I don't know if anyone told you this, but before he died, Snape gave me some memories and I went to Dumbledore's office to see them in the pensieve."

"You shouldn't have done it, Harry!" he said, exasperated. "What if it was a trap?"

"He was on our side, Lupin... Snape was on our side," Harry saw Remus's eyes cross with surprise. "Then, I found out that I had to ― to die to defeat Voldemort because there was a part of his soul in me," the boy's eyes were pleading with something Remus was not entirely sure what was, but suffering sure was mixed in it. "So I went to the Forest, where he was, but Dumbledore had left me the Resurrection Stone, not sure if you ever heard of it, but it can actually summon the dead, only they don't belong here, so it's not really bringing them back..."

Harry's eyes were now lost somewhere around the Great Hall and Remus suddenly knew it had meant for Harry to see his parents for once; even if they were no more than a shade of James and Lily's true selves, Harry had got to see them.

"I used it and I saw them, you know, my parents and Sirius... but also you."

He looked at his former professor as if searching for any signs that he had gone insane, but Remus stared wide eyed at him. Was he actually dead at some point? If not, how could he appear to Harry as a dead man when he was not one?

"I mean, I thought you were dead, I was _sure_ of it... We all were."

Harry searched in Lupin's eyes for an answer; him being the last one of the ones who had helped and guided him throughout the Wizarding World, the last link between him and his deceased parents. Remus could see the boy expected him to come up with some magical, prompt, enlightening answer. However, he had absolutely no idea as to what had happened during the time he had been unconscious and he hated himself for letting that boy down.

"I... I don't know what to say, Harry," he said apologetically.

Harry swallowed and nodded, trying to understand. He grabbed a bun from the table and nervously rolled it in his hands as if deciding if he should say anything else. Apparently, he opted not to do so, for he smiled at Remus before saying "I'm really glad you'll be there for Teddy."

"Likewise," Remus smiled warmly. "Thank you, Harry," he added, "for everything."

Not really knowing what to say, Harry nodded again and walked away, tossing half of the bun in his mouth. Remus was then, left alone and confused at the table. How could he have talked with Harry as someone... from the other side when he was never really there? Or was he? It was a blank to him, although it was not the effect of the Decimus hex, he could not say precisely what happened whilst he was senseless. What if the Killing Curse had also hit him? _Don't be such a fool_, he told himself, _besides Harry, no one ever survived a Killing Curse_. But what if his wounds, in addition to the Decimus Hex had somehow left him closer to the world of the dead than to the one of the living? Furthermore, Harry had believed in his death and was definitely in need of strong support to walk with him to his death, was it strong enough to summon some sort of shade of himself whilst he was nearly dead?

He handed the goblet with pumpkin juice to Tonks, convoking a free chair for him to sit beside her.

"Thanks," she smiled kindly at him, but taking a sip, she noticed that something was keeping him in deep thought. "All right?" she questioned, reaching for his hand.

Remus took his time to take a good sip of his wine and swallow the liquid before squeezing her hand kindly.

"Fine," he hinted her, looking his wife in the eyes, letting her know that he did not wish to talk about it in front of everyone.

In Ginny's arms, Teddy began showing a few cues of hunger once more and Tonks leant close to Remus's ear.

"I'll be over there," she pointed to a quiet corner of the Great Hall, where there were no one else, but her best friend, Olivia. "Bring him in a bit, yeah?" he nodded and she kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry, he's just hungry," she explained after seeing Ginny's concerned look. "You can have him for a while, Remus will bring him for me in a bit."

She made her way to her friend; Olivia's eyes crossed with sadness, certainly everything about her younger brother had coming hushing through her, but Tonks was not the kind of person to let one sit and cry without at least trying to cheer them up.

"Wotcher!" she grinned, throwing herself in the bench.

"Hi..." Olivia strived to offer her friend a smile, which she knew had come out way too much like a grimace.

"You know what I was thinking?" she asked the very first thing that came to her mind as she put the cold compress upon her breast. "Imagine if you have a girl and then, she and Teddy started dating?"

Olivia seemed lost in thought for a moment and a genuine smile started to tug the corner of her lips, but then Tonks thought of what she had just said... Her Teddy? Her Teddybear... _dating?_

"No!" Olivia shouted after having followed the same line of thought as hers.

"Definitely not!" she shook her head fiercely. "Dunno what I was thinking."

"No dating," Olivia stated.

"They'll be..." Dora straightened her eyes, thinking, "four-year-olds forever. Yup, they sleep through the night, already learnt how to use the bathroom..."

"Talk and walk..."

"So we're stuck with two four-year-olds?"

"Absolutely!" Olivia agreed, laughing with her friend.

"Imagine if we were not!" Tonks suggested. "I'll definitely have trouble with that."

"How come?"

"Well, it's genetics!" explained Dora. "After Mum fighting her whole family to be with Dad and then, the novel between Remus and I, I can only imagine what will happen to Teddy... It runs in the family!" she added causing them both to laugh again.

Tonks perceived some steps approaching them, but they quickly turned around and she shifted to see who was.

"Charlie!"

He stopped and his shoulders tensed before he spun on his heels.

"Yeah?" he asked, innocently.

"Wanted to hear some girl talk?" questioned Olivia.

"No way!" he shook his head. "I was going to give Teddy's gift, but then I realised it was you the one Tonks had been talking with so I left. You two are scary when you're together and laughing, I'm not getting in the middle of it."

"Oh, quit that!" Dora rolled her eyes. "Teddy's already braver than you! Get your arse here."

Charlie exhaled heavily, slowly making his way to them.

"So...?" Tonks raised her brows when he was beside her. "What is it?"

He waved his wand and a large package was in his hand.

"Wow..." she got the package, ripping it to reveal a plush dragon and she could not help but to grin; so like Charlie to present her baby with a stuffed dragon.

He squeezed the toy's tail, causing a large burst of fire to come from its mouth and Dora threw it as far away as she could, standing to her feet, her heart nearly popping out of her chest both in fear and anger, not bothered by the compress that had felt from her chest.

"**THE FUCK, Charlie!**" she stared, panting and wide eyed at him, not even caring that she had broke her rule of not saying bad words after Teddy's birth.

"What?" he asked with that fake innocence she hated. "Are you burnt?"

"NO! But if you really think I'll give that to _my son_ ―"

"_Accio_!" Charlie summoned the toy, pointing its mouth to his hand and squeezing the tail with the other. "It doesn't burn," he explained.

"That proves nothing! You've probably lost all your sensibility after all those years," Tonks crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to believe.

"Liv?" Charlie offered her the toy and Olivia took it. Was it guilt that crossed her eyes? She squeezed the dragon's tail and had the fire upon her own hand. "Just thought it might help you overcome your fear and... Well, Teddy's gonna like it," he grinned warily.

Tonks took the dragon in her hands. Would she really let her fear stay between her son and a present he would probably enjoy very much in the future?

Having heard his wife's yell, Remus got Teddy from Ginny and made his way to them, just in time to hear Dora muttering a "Thanks" to Charlie whilst his eyes practically demanded an explanation from his wife, but she simply got his hand and pulled him to a nearby empty classroom.

She sat on a chair, placing the dragon if somewhat angry at the nearby table, supporting her head in her hands for a short moment, leaving Remus to watch it all anguished and not really knowing what to do. Teddy started to cry then and she lifted her head, immediately starting to unbutton her shirt and Remus sat beside her, passing Teddy to her arms when she was done and placing his hand upon her thigh to show her, his support.

"That stupid dragon just breathed fire in my hands, that's all," explained Dora before smiling kindly. "Doesn't burn, though, I was just startled."

"Oh..." his brows furrowed slightly. "Perhaps we should save it for when he's a bit older, don't you think?"

"Absolutely!" she chuckled.

Remus rubbed one hand upon her back, watching his son feed and kissing her forehead wrinkled in pain caused by not applying the compress long enough.

A knock was heard on the classroom's door and the sound of a throat being cleared, when they turned towards it, they saw a man, apparently in his late twenties, a camera hanging on his neck, beard across his face and clad in brand new brown robes, standing there.

"Excuse me," he solicited. "My name's Simon Hunt, I'm from the Daily Prophet. I've been gathering testimonies and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. If it's not much trouble, that is; I can come back later..."

Remus looked at Dora, he knew it was not the ideal time, but he would leave it for her to choose. She shrugged with what he thought to be the beginning of a smirk, but well, he must have misinterpreted.

"Sure," she nodded. "Come in."

He approached them, circumventing the chairs and tables until he chose one near them to sit and took out his quick-quote quill and a piece of parchment.

"Remus and Nymphadora Lupin from the Order of the Phoenix," he dictated to the quill.

"Wait," Tonks leant forward. "Can't you just use 'Mr. and Mrs. Lupin'?"

"...Sure," he agreed. "Scratch that. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin from the Order of the Phoenix," he re-started and the quill wrote it madly fast.

Dora offered him a reassuring smile.

"So, how does it feel to be in the winning side?"

"It's not about being in the winning side and more about being in the right side," Remus responded.

"Winning is great, though!" Tonks countered. "We can finally prove to the idiots who believed in Voldemort that they were wrong, including the Prophet!"

Remus instantly shot her a warning glare, however, she completely ignored him and continued smiling at Simon, who seemed uncomfortable for an instant, but proceeded.

"How was it to fight, in the front line, a war with such great proportions?"

"Utterly exhausting at a time," Remus informed him. "We were really fatigued, but ―"

"But so much fun!" Dora cut him off, placing Teddy above her shoulder. "We used to laugh during our meetings, have some drinks and enjoy our plans to bring the Dark Lord down."

"Wouldn't you call it irresponsible to bring a child to the world during a war?" inquired Simon right away, his voice tone raising.

"I think you've had enough," Remus stood up, "Mr. Hunt," he stepped between the reporter and his wife. "If you would, please, leave us."

"Hang on, dear," Tonks stood up as well. "Let me just answer the last question," she smiled mischievously. She would not let him win this when she could turn things to her favour so easily.

Remus swallowed hard, but saw no other way out than letting her proceed.

"I wouldn't call irresponsibility to bring a smile to sad faces," she answered, simply, leaning the back of her head on her husband's chest. "My father is gone, but my mother and I smile when we look at my son. My best friend lost her baby brother, but we were just laughing whilst we talked about children. So many that are dear to me and have lost their loved ones, manage to smile when they see him. I don't know about you, but that's not irresponsibility to me."

Simon stood up and his quill and parchment went to his pocket by themselves as he got his camera and took a picture of them before they could say no.

"A picture for the article," he explained with a wry smile and walked away.

"What were you doing?" questioned Remus the minute Simon was out the door.

"Teaching the Prophet a lesson." She reached for Teddy's bag.

"You shouldn't ―"

"Oh, come on, Remus!" she placed the changing cushion upon a table and then Teddy on it. "All those stupid questions! 'How was it to fight a war?' Piece of cake, darling! We laughed and Voldemort was dead!" With a hand on Teddy she got a clean nappy from the bag.

"Still..." Remus took off Teddy's black trousers and got the cream as she unclasped the onesie and the dirty napkin.

"I wasn't going to ―" Tonks folded the dirty one and got the cream from him, "to let them pretend they weren't on his side for practically a whole year!" she tossed it away, cleaning Teddy's bum with a tissue.

"I know they were wrong, Dora," he said, calmly and starting to work on the left side of the napkin. "Everybody knows."

"Yeah, well, but we gotta do something, Remus!" she finished clasping the right side. "Or they're going to be acting as if it never happened!"

"All right, all right," he buttoned the white onesie as she put on his knitted trousers. "Just be careful next time, all right? For him?" he reached for Teddy's tiny hand. "We don't know what they're capable of."

Dora nodded bitterly as Remus got their son and kissed her cheek. With her hand around his waist and his arm around her shoulder, they went out the room to finally enjoy, as happily as they could, Hogwarts' finest meal. All thoughts from the disastrous interview nearly emptied from their minds.


	4. The Tonkses

**A/N1:** Hi, guys! Sorry it took me so long to post here. but I've been writing a lot for my other fics! Also if you're reading BGPM, you'd better read the homonym that I posted today, just 'cause there are a few spoilers here, not much, but I don't think you'd want to know, right? XD Anyway, hope you enjoy this one and I've loved all of your amazing reviews! Thank you so, so much!

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**CHAPTER 4: The Tonkses**

Sleeping like an angel. Remus had never quite understood how it could be said. As his mother used to say, angels were beings from another world, from another dimension, one he was sure he would never belong, so how could people ever be compared to them? However, as he gazed at his son, later that night, that was the only definition he could find to the way Teddy, a part of him, so serenely slept. The boy had assumed an appearance incredibly like his, light brown hair that was even flecked with grey despite the tender age, amber coloured eyes that, at that moment, were hidden by his lids, he could even see the beginning of a scarred tissue upon the baby's jaw, mirroring his long healed scar, certainly it was the further his son could do with the ability he did not have the slightest idea on how to control.

Remus's knuckles bleached as he strongly grasped the cot's bars. That scar. It was the living proof of what he could do to his son, that, no matter how much he loved that little boy, it could happen. If he was not careful enough in two days time, or during any other full moon, that morphed scar could become a real one and he would never forgive himself, he was not even sure if Dora would be able to forgive him for hurting her little baby, for making of her life a living nightmare. Nightmares... The reason he had offered to rock their son on the first place, the reason he did not step aside when he put the sleeping-like-an-angel Teddy on the cot, the reason he could not find it within him to stop postponing his walk to their bed and fall asleep.

The camera near the cot seemed like the perfect pretext to his delay. Or maybe it would only incite Tonks's curiosity. He got it and took a few pictures anyway, avoiding the gaze he could feel upon him.

"Remus?" He heard his wife, already ready for bed, calling for him.

"Half a moment," he asked without looking at her and taking one last photo before putting it back; the inevitable need to go to bed growing inside him. He knew that if there was one person that could drag him out of there, it was his wife. And that was what he was afraid of.

With one last kiss upon the boy's forehead and readjusting the blanket, he moved away, offering her a smile as he got under the covers and opened his arm to welcome her to his chest.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he answered, "just... the full moon... you know." Not really the truth. Not a lie either.

"He'll be all right," she told him, entangling her leg between his.

And he could not answer her. Could not nod nor could he say a word for any reassuring word from him would be perceived right away by her as a lie. So he did the only thing he could think of, passed an arm around her and pulled her closer.

"Do you want me to read for you?" he asked, determined not to let sleep claim him. "It's been a while since I, ahn, we..."

"Sure," she answered, smiling against his chest.

Remus summoned the book, took off the marker and let it levitating right above his head. He began reading it, the words coming stable and calm as he knew she liked, different tones for different scenes, his hand travelling across his stomach to find hers and intertwine their fingers.

As much as she loved his voice and as much as she fought sleepiness, being a mother to a new-born is never easy; her husband had barely finished the second page when she drifted to the land of dreams, the smile still imprinted upon her lips.

Gradually his head fell to the side when her steady breathing told him her mind was no longer aware of her surroundings. That smile... How much he wanted for it to continue there, how much he wished for it to never leave her lips. To make her happy; was not that his role as a husband, was not that the only thing she expected him to do? To make sure that she had a smile upon her lips and did not wake up crying and screaming in his arms once again? Therefore he kept reading aloud, as if hoping the story he was telling her, would be exactly what her dreams would be made of, instead of blood, curses, battlefields and deaths.

His eyelids were beginning to feel heavy when, a few hours later, he heard movement coming from the cot. As carefully as he could, he pushed Dora's head back to her pillow and placed the book on the mattress before walking over to where Teddy was just to see him shaking his tiny head from side to side as if searching for his mother's breast, like he supposed.

He went downstairs to fetch in the cabinet a couple of bottles his wife had stored the milk she had expressed before lunch that day. As he passed by the guests' room, he was able to hear with his higher senses whispered voices coming from it. It seemed as though those bloody nightmares were affecting every single one of them. Back in their room, he got the already moaning Teddy in his arms and sat on the rocking chair to start feeding him. He summoned the book again and re-started to read out loud, this time, however, for his son, whom he was sure was to have inherited from his mother the liking for his voice and soon the baby was peacefully being fed, it also did not take long for him to fall back asleep afterwards.

Cautiously to not wake him up, Remus lay his son on the cot, caressing his cheek with the back of his hand, before returning to his spot on their bed and resume his reading for his wife. An hour after that, though, the lack of proper sleep from the last nights, between watching over for Dora at St. Mungo's and caring for Teddy at home, took its toll on him and his voice was replaced by the sound of his book hitting the floor.

* * *

"Dora, please listen to me _for once!_" pleaded Remus.

"**I'll listen to you when you quit saying rubbish!**" bellowed Dora.

"It is _not_ rubbish!" he stormed. "_Teddy. Needs. You!_"

"**Teddy needs you **_**just like**_** he needs me!**"

"You know _very well_ ― as well as I do that that's _not _true!"

"**No! I don't know, Remus!**" she contradicted. "Teddy needs _his parents_. He doesn't need my milk, _he can get milk somewhere else..._ but not we."

Remus gritted his teeth and spun on his heels, his hands clasping the cot, where laid the baby whose cries now filled the room. He reached for his little hand, allowing the boy to grab his finger and saw his wife coming over to the other side of the cot, cupping her son's cheek with her hand. The minute of silence being enough to the die most of the new-born's cries, as though all he needed was for his parents to stop arguing. A single tear made its way from Remus's eye to the hand that remained upon the cot's bars. All his hopes practically gone as he realised that he was about to lose an arguement to her for the thousandth time.

"I can't lose you."

"What makes you think that _I_ can lose you?"

"I – I..." Remus swallowed hard. He had nothing against it and he would lose again. He had lost so many, but it did not mean that she had not lost too, he wanted to end the war, but so did she. He had nothing, not an ace in the hole.

"So, this is selfish," she concluded. "This is selfish and stingy."

Shutting his eyes close, Remus nodded. Yes, he was selfish and stingy. Whoever thought he was a great, noble man was eluding themselves.

Tonks walked over and stood beside him, leaning her back on the cot and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then go."

His eyes opened instantly, gazing at her with a puzzled look.

"Telling me you love me, marrying me, asking me to take you back," she enumerated with a choking voice. "Those, you said, were you being selfish, right?" she recalled, trying to stop her chin from trembling, but unable to do so and letting a tear fall down her cheek. "And I've told you, I – I like selfish."

Of all the possibilities of what he thought she might do next, this was never amidst them. It seemed as though she had surprised him one more time and he hoped, with everything he had, for that to not be the last time.

Remus put his hand on her cheek and gradually moved it until his fingers were behind her neck. Her hands grabbed his forearm as she allowed the tears to fall freely from her eyes. Amber and brown meeting and, despite not needing to, trying to say without words everything they felt for each other, just how much they loved, how much they did not wish for this to be their last moment, for the world to be a better place once it was done.

"Told you I'd listen to you when you quit saying rubbish, didn't I?" she murmured. "This isn't rubbish."

A sob escaped her and slowly he leant towards her, his lips crashing upon hers and deepening the kiss almost immediately. If that was their last kiss, he would do it right, he allowed himself to lose track of time and space in her wonderful scent, in her wonderful body, in _her_. His hands pulling her impossibly closer to him, his tongue caressing hers and exploring every inch of her mouth, her arms wrapped around his neck, the despair in each of their frantic acts, they all tried to conceive without words the very same thing, but none seemed enough. Eventually, the need for air was stronger and they broke apart.

"Go," she ordered, letting go off of him and pocketing her hands as if to stop any urges. "Go before I change my mind."

Remus, however, kept his hand on her neck.

"I love you."

"I know," she replied, breathing deeply to not sob once more, "and I love you too."

He kissed her forehead one last time and then his son's.

"Go to your mother's," he instructed her. "I don't want you here without... anyone to... talk."

Dora nodded.

"All right."

And he left. Left to fight, fight for a better world for his family for he was a family man now and he would do whatever was necessary to keep his family safe. He helped organise how the battle should be divided, led a group of combatants to the grounds. He duelled against a dark wizard, one he hoped to only end with one of them dead, one that lasted for too long. He was determined to win for he had a family, one he loved more than anything in the whole world, more than he ever thought to be possible to love, one he was sure he would only see when the battle was over until he heard that scream.

"She's reunited with her HALF-BREED!"

There was only one half-breed in that battlefield and only one woman that would be reunited with him. His entire being was begging for it to not be true, needing for it to not be true and there was only one way to know. Gradually, he moved his head to the origin of the sound, he felt the wolf howling when he caught a glimpse of his wife's pleading eyes and not long later, the worst two words he had ever heard and a green light hitting her back before she felt to the ground.

Before he could stop the creature, the wolf within him assumed control and he let the strongest Stunning Spell he had ever casted upon Dolohov; the Death Eater was thrown across the grounds as he ran to her. She had indeed surprised him once again.

"DORA!" He skidded beside her, his wand ended up somewhere on the ground beside hers. The moment he caught a glance her lifeless eyes, his brain perceived what his heart refused to accept. "Dora, wake up! Come on, wake up!"

Remus grabbed her shoulders and started to shake her violently, tears pouring down his cheeks before he could stop them.

"**Dora, wake up!** You gotta wake up!"

Bringing her motionless body to his chest, he wrapped his arms fiercely around her.

"You can't leave me!" he cried. "I _can't_ lose you, remember?"

The war could have stopped for all he knew; all he cared was that the last one of the ones who dared to love him had died. "Not you too..." It was entirely his fault. He should have known that someone like her would not be able to stay home caring for a baby whilst others fought the forces of evil. She did not belong there; she belonged here, in the battlefield with him, protecting their son and so many others against any harm that could get to him.

His fault.

If he had allowed her to accompany him on the first place, none of it would have happened, she would have been by his side the whole time and would not need to let her guard down in order to seek him. He was a monster. He had killed her. All of a sudden he could not hold her, could not hold her for he simply did not have hands anymore; he had paws, hairy, clawed paws. His whole body had transformed. He was a monster.

He tried to run, run away from her. As if being in a different place he could escape his sins. Somewhere he could be alone, just him with his prey. Prey? He opened his mouth and from his snout fell a new-born he had been carrying by the head. Blood flowed both from his mouth and from the boy's jaw and he cried. A deep cut had joined the tears to mark the baby's face, too much like a scar he had seen before. He knew that boy, he would recognise him anywhere. The new-born continued to cry desperately for help, but he could not. He could not help him for he had done it, he had harmed him in the worst way he could think of.

He was a monster. A beast that should have learnt to stay far from people, especially the ones he cared about, the ones he loved. He had finally managed to push away the ones he held most dear, push away to a place where they could never return or would have once his cries died. He would be finally alone.

But how could he be when there was this warm body beside him?

In a fright he turned his head to the side to see one of the most beautiful faces he had ever seen. His wife. Sleeping. But by the way her eyebrows were knitting together due the loud sound of a new-born's cries, he figured it would not be for too long.

Remus struggled for half a minute with the covers that had mysteriously knotted around his ankle, no doubt it was the result of the way he had so restlessly slept. He slid his legs out of the bed and allowed himself a couple of seconds to dwell on the horrifying dream he had just woken up from; his body shivering in cold despite the sweat covering his skin. They were getting worse, definitely worse. Much more realistic and... the wolf... He took a good look at his hands. Hands, not paws. He had done nothing. Yet.

He stumbled upon the book on the floor on his way to the cot and gazed at the crying baby. He should not be allowed near such perfect boy. However, his wish to warrant Dora would sleep a bit more grew bigger than his fears of what he might do to his son. Remus took Teddy in his arms, getting the remaining milk bottle before walking out the bedroom and into the nursery.

"Shhh, please," he soothed the baby, sitting on the chair. "Please."

A couple of deep breaths were vital for him to calm himself enough to try to quiet his son.

"Come on, Teddy." Remus offered him the bottle. "I know you prefer Mummy, but let her rest for now, okay?" he pleaded, but the boy seemed to want to exercise his lungs. "If you take the bottle now, you can have her on the next one, all right?" Since the one in his hand was the last bottle, he would not have too much of a choice than letting his wife feed him in a couple of hours.

"We had a deal, remember? You can bother her as much as you want during the day so long you let her sleep at night. Remember?" Said deal Remus had tried to make with Teddy during the pregnancy, but there were still some days in which the baby seemed to ignore the deal completely. "I know she was giving you food the whole time back then, but let's try like this, okay?"

He exhaled heavily when the boy refused to acknowledge the bottle one more time. Wait... Molly had a trick. What was it? He frowned. Oh, right. Remus let a few drops of milk fall into the Teddy's mouth and smiled whilst he swallowed them. With one last effort, he was finally able to make his son take the bottle.

Half an hour later, he had placed him back on the cot and moved carefully to the bed, propping his pillow and sitting as near to his wife's head as possible, not wanting to find out if he was able to fall back asleep. He pulled her head onto his lap and let his fingers run through her green hair. The few candles he had refused to extinguish were still lightened and he could see that her features remained somewhat uneasy.

"If I ever –" Remus bit his lip, stopping his murmurs. "If I ever do him _any_ harm, I want you to know that I never meant to, all right?"

He knew how tired he was and despite not lying down, he knew he needed something else to make sure he would remain awake, not thinking about what he had just dreamt about above all, and his eyes fell to the book on the floor, his only hope. He summoned it again and re-started to read it for what felt like the billionth time, but was still so much better than his nightmares.

His focus completely directed to the book let him oblivious to just how distressed Tonks was beside him until she woke up, panting and scared beside him. Remus swallowed hard at that sight; no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed enough to stop her bad dreams. Nor his.

"Shit." She rubbed her hands over her face. "You're reading?" she asked incredulously after a moment. "Still?"

He nodded and she did not need to question why. With a deep breath, she sat down, hugging him and allowing him to embrace her.

"What are we going to do?" Sorrow taking over her for not being able to leave the desolation out of her voice.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "Suppose we can try dreamless potions, but they'd be..."

"A bandage," she finished for him. The injury would still be underneath it and would not disappear unless they found a way to treat it.

"Reckon it's still better than an open wound," he pointed out, "isn't it?"

"Think so," she responded, nuzzling upon his chest.

"I'll prepare one tomorrow."

Dora nodded. All she wished for at that moment was to have her father with her. That man seemed to always have an ace in his sleeve, even if it was a terrible idea, her father always had one and it would probably be better than magically making their nightmares disappear when they knew that, the moment they stopped taking the potion, it would come back. What would she not give to have inherited from him that creativity? Gift he always claimed to have got from his mother. His mother... The few times Tonks had met her, she had always been a lovely lady. A lovely lady that had absolutely no idea her son had died a few months ago. _Oh, shit._ Dora wondered if it would not be more merciful to let her believe that her son had simply... She had nothing. Sooner or later, her grandmother would start believing that her son had passed away, when he no longer sent her letters, when he did not sent her a birthday present. She could not let it this way, she owned it to the woman who had so well brought up her father. One last act of kindness towards her.

"Rem?"

"Yes?"

"I'm gonna go my nan's tomorrow," she informed him.

Remus took his time to let out his breath and suck in another one, knowing precisely what she had not said before pulling her chin up and forcing her to look at him.

"Are you sure?" he inquired. "I don't think she'll mind to wait a bit more."

She nodded.

"I just – Just need to put an end to it," she explained. "I don't want to have to think about it anymore."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he questioned.

She knew it was something she wanted to do it herself, but it did not mean she needed to do it by herself. Tonks nodded against his chest.

"If you don't mind..."

"Of course I don't mind," he made known. "How are we going to do this?"

"We could, um, leave Ted at Mum's," Dora swirled around so that her back was on his chest now and his arms were around her, "and then we head there after we stop at the Hospital."

"Sure."

The last hour before dawn was spent feeding Teddy whilst planning precisely every bit of how they would visit Dora's Muggle grandparent. When sunrise finally came, they got downstairs to prepare breakfast, since none of them, despite needing to, wanted to sleep more.

"Did you sign the Prophet again?" asked Tonks when she saw, outside the window, a barn owl with the newspaper.

"No," Remus shook his head, "I didn't. But get it anyway, we can see it later. I'll get the knuts."

She opened the window and the owl dropped it on her hands, flying away immediately.

"Never mind!" she shouted at her husband and he climbed down the stairs.

"No charges?" he asked incredulous.

"Looks like it." She shrugged, throwing it at the coffee table after a quick look at the headline which announced that trials would start taking place at the Ministry by the following week for the ones who got caught.

* * *

The clock was already marking ten in the morning when they finally managed to arrive at Andromeda's. Between boiling the Dreamless Potion to kill some of the time they had while it was too soon to arrive at another's house, amongst quite a few other things, their guests suddenly changing their minds on staying a few days longer therefore leaving their house and dressing themselves decently as Muggles delayed their plans, but nothing that would complicate their schedule.

A quick stop at St. Mungo's let them know that the reason the Hospital had emptied the night before was indeed the funeral that took place at Hogwarts. It was not very different from when Remus left it with his wife to their home and for all they knew, they could have left a couple of hours before. Renewed of pain potions, they felt much more rested and disapparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

However, instead of entering the bar, Dora led Remus to a nearby street where there was a public phone, dragging him inside the red cabin. It was precisely like the visitor's entrance at the Ministry and she took from her pocket a piece of paper, following the instructions her father had written to her on how to use a phone. Soon, she was biting her lip and gazing anxiously at him whilst waiting for something to happen with that thing close to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Um, hi." Tonks frowned, adjusting the phone over her ear and struggling to get somewhat used to it. "Is Margaret in?"

"This is she."

"Oh, um, sorry, nan. Didn't recognise you. It's Dora." She smiled nervously.

"**My goodness! So long I don't hear from you!**" Tonks frowned, taking the phone a couple of inches away from her ear. "_How are you doing, m'dear?_"

"Fine, I'm fine." She took Remus's hand in hers. "Listen, are you busy now? Mind if I stop by?"

"Blimey! Of course not! Is your dad coming with you? Been too long since I've seen him. So sloppy, he is."

"No..." Tonks swallowed hard. "It's just me."

"Oh." She could hear the real surprise in her voice for she had never visited her without her father. "Of course not, m'dear, I'll get started on your cake."

"That's really not necessary!" Dora refused. "I – I can't stay too long."

"Not even staying for lunch?"

"I really can't..."

"Well, in that case, I'm waiting for you!"

"Okay, um, be there in ten."

Tonks hang the phone and let her head fall on Remus's chest, gathering the courage to move on with what she could no longer turn back.

Soon, they had apparated in front of a house in a suburban Remus did not recognise. Dora closed her eyes, that familiar strained expression crossing her features as she morphed her hair to the same sand tone he had seen so many times and her eyes to the dark shade of blue she had inherited from her mother; waiting a couple of minutes before knocking.

Two women greeted them at the door. One of them she remembered as her father's sister, Sylvia, a smart woman of whom her father had always said wonderful things about and a fatter and older one, her grandmother, Margaret. Both of them had that same shade of blonde upon their heads, a typical trace of the Tonkses, and warming smiles over her faces, embracing Dora immediately and the smiles were quickly replaced by surprised looks when they saw Remus beside her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tonks pulled him forward. "This is my husband, Remus Lupin."

He smiled and offered his hand to shake.

"I've heard wonderful things about you, madam."

Dora could not help but to smile; he could be such a sweetheart, until some berk let his condition slip, but well, it would not happen on that day.

"You got married! Such great news!" Her grandmother took his hand, but soon pulled him into a hug as well. "Trust you're taking good care of this girl, am I right?"

"More than good." Tonks spared him from answering.

Before they knew, they were dragged to the drawing-room and had taken their seats by the table, hearing good wishes to them and to their new marriage.

"So why hasn't my brother come?" asked Sylvia.

Dora took in a deep breath. She had hoped to have a few more minutes of light-hearted conversation before she broke the news, but apparently it would not be possible.

"Didn't invite us for his last birthday and we only got a Christmas card! Not that we mind, if you were short on money all you needed to do is ask! I mean, it's not like we've got loads, but we could help. Is that why you're here on your own? He's too proud to ask?"

"No, no." Tonks shook her head. "That's not the problem."

"Then what is it?" questioned Margaret anxiously.

"Well, the Wizarding World went through some big changes lately," she began. "You must've noticed all the funny accidents, disappearances ...deaths."

The women nodded slowly.

"That bridge," Sylvia started, "was that your work?"

"Not exactly," Tonks answered. "There was some sort of dispute between forces... and the other side's responsible for the accidents."

"...Like a war?" her aunt asked.

"Pretty much," Dora replied trying to reveal the shortest amount of details that was possible and lowering her gaze to her hands on the table. "Dark wizards began to hunt all the ones that weren't on their side... force them to join them or... and eventually, they came for us." She swallowed hard again. She was not going to cry. At least not yet.

Remus leant over the table, separated her hands gently and took one of them in his, intertwining their fingers.

"We went to hiding, you see," he explained, "but they managed to find us."

"And Dad," Dora cut him before he got to the most important bit, "he left... to protect us. Tried to lure the dark wizards away."

They could see that their hands were not the only ones being held at that moment. Her aunt's hand seemed about to lose every drop of blood it possessed, despite her features showing that she was wondering if it had been a brave or an idiotic move, it was obvious that both of them already feared what was coming.

"He managed for quite a while –"

"_Is he all right?_" her grandmother demanded to know causing a tear to go down the Auror's cheek.

"– until he didn't an –"

"**Tell me that he's all right!**"

"– and they ki – killed 'im."

Hearing the deafening sound of the elder woman's shouts of despair, Remus wrapped an arm around her as Sylvia looked at him, covering her mouth with her hand, trying to assimilate.

"He was a brave man," he pointed out, vainly trying to ease some of the pain they were under. "He gave his life for ours. Could've chosen to join them, but he chose what was right instead of what was easy." He recalled how his father-in-law had decided to not follow the Ministry's policy for Muggle-borns.

"**No! Not my Ted! Not my Ted!**"

For several minutes, no one dared to say a word, or perhaps none of them were able to, therefore sniffs and sobs were all that was heard in the house whilst their eyes reddened and swelled.

"When?" choked Sylvia, holding her sobbing mother.

"Fe – February," leaving Remus's chest, Tonks bit her lip, her chin trembling with the effort of standing still, "the fifteenth. We wanted to come before, bu – but it wasn't safe." She wiped her tears and searched her pockets.

"It really just ended this week, Mrs. Tonks," Remus explained, "with a great battle between both sides. Lots of deaths, but thank Merlin we succeeded."

"I – I was pregnant," Dora held the picture her husband had taken the night before. "Seventeen days old today. We named him Ted ...after Dad."

Margaret stopped sobbing for long enough to get the picture and take a good look at the baby through dimmish glasses.

"God bless you." She squeezed both their hands. "You sh – shouldn't even be here. He's so young."

"...I had to."

Margaret started to run her thumb over the baby's face, as though she was caressing Teddy himself.

"He's with my mother," Tonks mentioned. "I wish I could've brought him here, but... but I can't." _Drat the Statute of Secrecy!_, she mentally cursed. "I'm sure Dad explained when I was born... It's just complicated."

Her grandmother nodded feebly, sniffing, more tears following the dried paths as she put the photo on the table and slid it back to her, but Dora shook her head fiercely.

"You keep it." She smiled weakly and pushed the photograph back to her, glad that they had managed to take one in which Teddy had a normal hair colour, thanks to her husband. "I'll try to visit later. We've got loads to deal with for the next months, but I'll bring more pictures –"

"Where's he?" Margaret asked suddenly, gradually lifting her gaze to meet hers.

"He's with Mum –"

"**My Ted!**" she corrected. "_Where's he? I need to –_" The elder woman burst into sobs again.

"Oh, he's, um, he's – We cremated him actually, ashes all over the garden. Figured he'd prefer that way..." She bit her lip once more and looked at them as if apologising. "There's a memorial at Hogwarts, you know the school, I'd take you there, but..."

"You can't," her aunt finished for her.

Tonks nodded.

"Hope you understand."

"**No, I don't understand!**" Margaret stormed out, standing up and overthrowing the chair over the floor. "Your world took my boy from me! I understood! He got married and went to live away from me! I understood! He had you, but I couldn't so much as see you! I understood! And now he's d – dead and I can't say goodbye! He's got a grandson, a namesake and I c – c – can't see him! I don't understand! My Ted was a magical child too and I raised him! So, I'm sorry if I don't understand, _I'm done understanding!_"

"Mother!" Sylvia tried to console her, but Margaret pushed her away.

Feeling the blood boiling in her veins, Tonks stood up.

"It's not my fault!" she reminded her. "I didn't want any of this!"

"Dora," Remus got up and took her hand. "Maybe we shou –"

"Those _monsters_ did that to Dad and he –" Tonks ignored him. "He was _my_ father, okay? I've – I lost him too!"

"Dora, come on," he whispered in her ear, placing an arm around her. "You don't want this."

She took a look at her grandmother now throwing herself at the couch devastated, sobbing uncontrollably and allowed her husband to take her away. They were already by the hall when they heard her aunt calling for them.

"Wait, Dora, Remus!"

They turned around to see her coming, new tears staining her cheeks.

"You have to forgive her, she's –"

Remus nodded.

"It's not easy."

"We know," he consented.

"But it's really not my fault," Dora pointed out.

"I know!" Sylvia assured her. "She didn't mean it, she's in shock. It's –"

"It's okay," Remus said.

"Come back in a few months," her aunt asked. "Can't promise she'll be all right, but she'll be better, she just needs... time."

"Fine," Tonks agreed.

"Appreciate you coming to tell us, though."

"Yeah." Dora nodded. "Listen, I really need to get back to my son so if you don't mind..."

Sylvia nodded sadly, walking back to her mother and Remus led his wife out the door. The minute they had set foot on the pavement, she looked away from him, crossing her arms over her chest and he walked over and pulled her to him. Whether his wife was protecting them or telling the truth, he wondered if he would ever meet any member from the Tonks family for the first time without leaving after a heated arguement.

"Shit." She shook her head slightly against his chest.

"It's okay." He ran his hand up and down her back slowly.

"And I really wanted to bring Teddy after he graduated Hogwarts," she told him. "Thought it'd be good for him to know Muggles and have more family to count on if he ever needed anything that we couldn't – but... she hates me now."

"She doesn't hate you, Dora," he assured her. "She didn't mean it. She's just lost her son, how would you do had you been in her place, hm?"

Tonks swallowed hard. She knew that she would find someone to blame, whoever it was. Her grandmother was not thinking straight, how could any mother be, knowing that her baby was taken away from her? She exhaled heavily and wrapped her arms around his waist briefly, just to show him she knew he was right.

"Thanks," she said when they broke apart and started walking towards a deserted alley, "for coming."

"It's nothing," he shook his head, feeling the result of so many badly slept nights over him and allowing his eyes to close for a couple of seconds.

"Not yet." She tickled him. "Wait till after lunch, then we go home to a nice and long kip."

He smiled and disapparated them, knocking at Andromeda's door.

"What's wrong?" questioned her seeing her daughter's face covered with paths of dried tears.

"In a minute." Tonks got in, searching for her son in the drawing-room. "Is Teddy up yet?"

"Sound asleep," she answered, shaking her head and closing the door. "Took him to your old room and he slept like an angel."

Dora climbed the stairs, managing to stumble over the last step, but soon got back to her feet. She entered the room she had not set foot since the day of the Battle, everything pretty much like she remembered. A baby utterly oblivious to his surroundings in the cot, covers heaped on the end of the bed, an open bottle of ink and a half written piece of parchment with a quill over it.

After a quick look at her son resting, she walked over and pushed the quill away, getting the parchment in her hands. A smile spread itself over her lips despite the angst in her core, both at the present moment and when she began writing the parchment. Both Remus's and her insecurities written in there, when none of them had the slightest idea of what would happen next. Dora took a deep breath and allowed the smile to become wider, kneading the parchment in her hands.

"Still asleep?" asked Remus when he came in.

She nodded warmly before tossing the parchment on the bin and offering him a smile.

"What was that?" he questioned, furrowing his brows a bit.

"Nothing important." The smile still upon her lips whilst she walked out the door.

Tonks awaited her husband to also leave the room to finally meet her mother's questioning gaze at the corridor.

"I told nan Margie about – well, about Dad."

Andromeda seemed to have lost the ability to speak; she went gradually from surprised to indignant.

"_Why?_"

"Because she needed to know and I didn't want you to do it," she explained. "...I know it's not been easy for you."

"You could've waited a while longer," Andromeda pointed out.

Remus nodded, letting his mother-in-law know that he had tried to convince her of that fact, but she would not listen.

"Didn't want to have it to look forward." Dora shook her head.

"Either way, you should've talked to me first," Andromeda told her. "What if I wanted to talk with her myself?"

"Mum, you _shouldn't_ do it, okay?" she yelped. "I wasn't –" She sighed and shut her eyes closed when she heard her son starting to cry inside the room.

Tonks opened the door and got Teddy, sitting on the bed before hearing her mother, still at the hall, address to her husband.

"How did she take it?"

Remus shrugged.

"Cried a lot, but she was not so bad," he remembered. "Dora showed her a picture of Teddy, they talked a bit, but then... she asked where he was. We told him about the ashes and the garden, but Dora also mentioned the Hogwarts' memorial and she just stormed when we said she could not visit. Said everything she must've kept for herself all her life, about losing her son to the Wizarding World and not being able to see Dora grow up, nor Teddy now and – Well, you know Dora, she didn't just listen to it quietly, so... They didn't mean it, though, just sadness and sorrow, I suppose."

Andromeda nodded understandingly and entered her daughter's old room.

"Need anything?"

Tonks shook her head, running her fingers over the boy's bright yellow hair.

"Listen, I know it's not been easy on you," she sat across her daughter on the bed. "So, I've been thinking about moving in with you, just to help with whatever you need, even if it's just making the beds or doing the washing up and maybe watching over him for a night." She smiled if somewhat nervously, clearly pleading for them to accept her offer.

Dora exchanged a short, but meaningful look with her husband. It was obvious that her grandson was not the only reason Andromeda wanted to get out of her own home. Her husband was in every corner of that house and she could really use a break from him.

"Sure, Mum. That'd be great! We could really use a few more hours of sleep."

"And I could use a few more hours with this little guy." Andromeda kissed his hand, smiling as her grandson watched her. "Lunch will be ready in a jiffy," she informed them before she inched downstairs.

* * *

About an hour later, whilst his wife put their baby for his afternoon kip and Andromeda set herself in the guest room that had been unoccupied for not many hours, Remus got the copy of the Daily Prophet that had been sent for them. He scanned the first pages until he found himself staring at a face, a face all too familiar to him, one that had become his own world, his reason to live, to keep going. His wife and himself, holding their son over her shoulder; in the photograph, signed with Simon Hunt's name, he stood up at once, putting himself between the reporter and his family and speaking if somewhat harshly, but soon, Dora followed him, smiling wickedly and stepping in front of him with the baby. Beside the picture, he saw the written article for the interview they had given the night before.

_Although most of the members of the Order of the Phoenix have been courteous despite shaken, a few of them seem to have a need for hostility. Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, during an exclusive interview for the Daily Prophet, as one can clearly see by looking at the picture beside this article, bragged about being in the winning side of the war, as though it was the most important point of them fighting or perhaps, as it was obtained by a different source, to find someone to love, marry and start a family, in other words, their own personal interests. Not to mention the way it was informed to our reporter that these members of the organisation used to laugh and have drinks during the meetings, which unmistakeably showed to whoever wants to see that their priorities were somewhere else. The final piece of our puzzle was brought at the end, when one could not think that it could get worse, but it was said that they do not consider irresponsible to bring a child to the world during a war, pointing out that the baby's function is to bring happiness, insinuating that we all should have children instead of actually fighting the battles; after all, they would put smiles upon sad faces, but what would happen when the infants got killed? Wider smiles, perhaps? Or grimaces that not even another baby could take away? It is behaviours like this that leave us wondering if these people should be walking free, caring for a new-born or locked up in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungo's._

As he read, he could feel the muscles of his face, contracting in both shock and anger. The second he finished, he folded the pages and threw the paper on a forgotten spot at the kitchen, wondering if he should ever allow Dora to see it, but he did not seem to have a choice. Simon Hunt had compromised not only him, but his family and by consequence the whole Order; he could not let it go this way. He felt the wolf in him howling and, in spite of not being so easy this close to a full moon, he fought to keep it quiet.

Reporters were the kind of person one would never want to be pissed with, they would find a way to dig into every dirt spot of your life and bring it out to the open so everyone could see. He had indeed feared this when said interview had ended, but he did not think it would happen so soon, maybe in a couple of months, but this? This was just the beginning, but he would not take any decisions before the full moon, he knew he would not quite be himself before it and this was not the kind of deal that should be taken when one is angered. He sighed and walked over towards the cauldron, pouring two mugs with the Dreamless Potion he had boiled earlier and headed to their bedroom. Dora smiled, spinning on her heels and going to him the instant he closed the door.

"Do you smell it?" she asked with closed eyes, holding the mug near her nose.

"Lavender?" he offered, the flower's smell being, by far, the one that most stood out, being easily caught even without his increased senses from the closeness of a full moon.

She shook her head, smiling and taking in the wonderful scent.

"Sleep. Long, calm and restful sleep." She sipped on her potion before standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

"Anytime, love." He smiled, drinking it as fast as he could before walking to the bed, where his wife already waited for him in comfortable clothes or rather, just her knickers and he copied her, undressing himself of everything but his underwear.

One word from him and her world would go to pieces, but he would not do that to her, not now at least. Life was anything but easy at that moment, there were several problems that he had to deal with, but for now, he would allow himself to rest and most of all, he would allow that fair-haired witch beside him to rest. For one afternoon, they would forget whatever was outside those walls and enjoy a calm kip.

* * *

**A/N2:** So, Tonks's Muggle grandparents are usually forgotten in fics and this is something I've never seen written, but I've always pictured her doing it to prevent her mother from having to deal with it. Before you go, why don't you leave what you thought in the box bellow, huh? Thanks for reading!


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